Wet age-related macular degeneration (neovascular AMD), also known as wet AMD, has seen an unprecedented surge in incidence.1

But researchers are taking measures to avoid or treat it by getting to the heart of it at a cellular level.

Photodynamic Therapy (PDT), using nontoxic photosensitizers activated by light to attack and destroy abnormal blood vessels that contribute to wet macular degeneration, represents one important advancement.

Anti-VEGF Injections

Anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) injections have become a standard treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD). They work by tightening leaky blood vessels and stopping further bleeding that leads to macular edema, improving vision in approximately 40% of wet AMD patients.

VEGF is produced when there is not enough oxygen in the eye, encouraging new blood vessels to form and cause diabetic macular oedema and wet AMD to form. Left untreated, wet macular degeneration can result in permanent vision loss; however, anti-VEGF injections may reverse its course; they should be given on a monthly or bimonthly basis and have an excellent success rate.

These medications are administered through injection directly into the eye, usually just under the retina. They work by drying up fluid that causes macular oedema, so the macula can lie flat again and vision distortion improves. On average, results take three months of monthly injections before they’re seen – however most people continue treatment until there is no sign of bleeding on fluorescein angiogram or optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) studies.

Susvimo, a refillable implant that delivers anti-VEGF medication continuously, has recently been approved by the FDA and can reduce injection frequency from one per month to just six times annually. Surgically placed into your eye in an outpatient procedure.

gene therapy for wet AMD is currently being evaluated in clinical trials and has shown promise in improving vision in wet AMD patients. RegenXBio has created this innovative one-time treatment option designed to neutralize VEGF and modify blood vessel formation pathways using adeno-associated viral vectors to deliver monoclonal antibody fragments designed to neutralize it – this treatment has already shown promising results when administered to wet AMD patients as part of one of its one-off treatments for wet AMD.

Researchers are exploring new methods of increasing the effectiveness of anti-VEGF injections. One method they are exploring involves targeting receptors that bind VEGF in order to allow eye cells to respond more readily with reduced doses of this drug, like those seen with brolucizumab compared to its standard anti-VEGF counterpart in terms of patient outcomes such as best visual acuity (BVA) and central subfield thickness changes at three months post treatment initiation.

Anti-angiogenic Injections

Age-related macular degeneration comes in two main varieties, dry and wet. With dry AMD, the cone photoreceptors in the macula gradually stop functioning properly and begin degrading over time, leading to gradual vision loss over time. Wet AMD involves blood vessels growing abnormally close to the macula that leak fluid into it causing blurry or distorted vision resulting in blurry or distorted images, potentially progressing much more rapidly than dry AMD and increasing risk of serious visual loss.

Wet AMD involves abnormal blood vessels called neovascularization that can quickly lead to rapid and sometimes permanent visual loss. Current drugs, known as anti-angiogenics, may help stabilize or improve vision for some wet AMD patients by stopping their growth or leakage from new abnormal vessels forming; injection of such anti-angiogenics may stabilize or improve vision for these individuals.

Ranibizumab or Lucentis has proven itself one of the most effective drugs for wet AMD, having been approved based on two identically designed, randomized, double-masked clinical trials called RIDE and RISE that evaluated it’s efficacy for this use in wet macular degeneration patients. Treatment groups received either monthly injections of ranibizumab or an inactive solution injections.

These trials demonstrated that ranibizumab significantly enhanced vision in people with wet AMD. The improvements, however, did not translate evenly across visual acuity levels – an effect known as the “floor-to-ceiling effect”, often mentioned when discussing expectations with their physician.

Another promising new treatment for wet macular degeneration involves using anti-angiogenic drugs in combination with photodynamic therapy (PDT). PDT is a medical procedure in which non-toxic photosensitizers activated by specific wavelengths of light are activated to produce reactive oxygen species that damage and obliterate neovascularization in the retina, damaging and eliminating it altogether. Studies have demonstrated that using both together may reduce visual loss rates associated with wet macular degeneration patients.

Other experimental treatments are currently under consideration, including stem cell approaches that could regenerate photoreceptors in the eye. Unfortunately, there is no known cure for macular degeneration, but advances in wet and dry AMD treatments may help many patients maintain good vision throughout their lives. As with any health condition, early detection and visits to an ophthalmologist are the key ways to preventing or postponing serious vision issues as you age.

Acupuncture

Macular degeneration (AMD / ARMD) is one of the main causes of blindness among Americans over 60, accounting for up to 30% of cases each year in this country. The condition causes central vision to gradually decline until total blindness sets in; remaining undamaged parts of retina around macula usually provide side vision that makes for full vision in some circumstances. There are two different forms of macular degeneration: dry and wet macular degenerations are often caused by abnormal blood vessels beneath retina that form, leading to bleeding and fluid leakage which results in severe loss of vision loss over time.

One of the primary challenges associated with wet macular degeneration treatment is finding ways to stop abnormal blood vessels from growing beneath the retina. One promising approach for treating wet macular degeneration is anti-VEGF injections; these medications work by drying up leaky vessels and preventing further formation of abnormal ones; injections are administered directly into the eye for maximum effectiveness and are effective against further worsening vision in almost all wet AMD patients, with 40% seeing improvements in central vision as a result of treatment.

Other treatments include Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) using verteporfin and laser treatment. PDT involves injecting a drug directly into your bloodstream before exposing your retina to low energy laser light for several minutes to destroy abnormal new blood vessels that form underneath the retina in wet AMD cases, eliminating their formation altogether and serving as an effective alternative to anti-VEGF injections in some instances.

Acupuncture is an ancient and empirical system of medicine based on the concept of Qi (energy/life force). Qi flows along meridians and has long been recognized for treating many medical conditions including nausea and vomiting due to chemotherapy or surgery, pain from cancer treatment, headaches, menstrual cramps, backaches, fibromyalgia asthma and arthritis. Acupuncture moved closer towards mainstream Western medicine acceptance in 1996 when FDA reclassified it from class III (investigatory status) to class IIb status making it a medical option.

Laser Treatment

Lasers are intense beams of light produced by machines and emitting one specific color of light, as opposed to regular white light which contains many wavelengths of wavelengths of light. Their specific hue and pulse duration allows lasers to cut, seal and vaporize tissues such as blood vessels or skin with ease.

Laser therapy is a non-invasive process that uses low energy light waves to send low doses into the eye to break up blood vessels leaking fluid and contributing to wet macular degeneration, and ultimately stop further vision loss. The goal of laser therapy is to decrease fluid leakage and stop further vision loss.

Laser treatment should only be utilized if your wet macular degeneration has not advanced to an extreme state. Some cases may not respond, yet laser therapy remains an excellent way to try alongside other treatment strategies.

Scientists are researching other treatments to halt macular degeneration’s progression, such as bispecific antibodies such as faricimab that may prove more effective than anti-VEGF injections in stopping abnormal blood vessel growth and avoiding scarring of the macula.

Current treatment for wet macular degeneration includes intravitreal anti-VEGF injections. This drug has proven highly successful at slowing or stopping progression of AMD for most sufferers and improving central vision by 40%. Photodynamic therapy using verteporfin can also be employed; this involves injecting verteporfin before shining low energy laser light on retina to destroy abnormal new blood vessels (choroidal neovascularization) that cause wet AMD.

Additionally, it’s also essential to eat a diet high in vitamins and minerals in order to promote eye and overall body health – which can also help prevent macular degeneration. If you are concerned about macular degeneration or any other eye health concerns, do not hesitate to visit an ophthalmologist as soon as possible for a complete evaluation and answer all of your queries.