Sunday, March 18, 2012

AAO Increasing Awareness about Treatments for AMD

In recognition of Age-related Macular Degeneration Awareness Month, the American Academy of Ophthalmology seeks to increase awareness of AMD and the latest clinical advances and prevention measures. The most exciting new approaches for dry AMD, the most common form, include:
  • Medicine-secreting implants that protect dying cells,
  • New drugs that aim to prevent damage to the retina,
  • Clinical trials of medicines intended to slow the progression of dry AMD, and
  • A prosthesis system, known as Second Sight, which attaches to the outside surface of the eye and connects to an electrode placed in the retina. A camera mounted on a pair of glasses communicates with the implant. This device is in clinical trials in the United States and is already in use in Europe.
New, highly effective injectable medications are dramatically reducing damage from wet AMD, which affects about 10 percent of Americans, such as:
  • Avastin and Lucentis, which have been shown to reduce visual acuity loss in most patients and improves vision in some patients, and,
  • A new injectable drug, Eylea, which received FDA-approval in late 2011.

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