Radiation therapy, when used to treat patients requiring chronic anti-VEGF therapy, may reduce the burden of treatment for neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD). According to results from a study presented by Dr Pravin Dugel at the joint meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and Pan-American Association of Ophthalmology,...

A normal view of the world has been simulated for millennia as a clear image over an entire scene. However, the potential for sharp visual acuity is not constant across the retina. Truly crisp vision is obtained only from central fovea, comprising about 1° of the central field. What we actually see during fixation is a small island of clarity...

A prospective, multicenter, nonrandomized clinical trial finds that low-fluence photodynamic therapy (PDT) is as effective as standard-fluence PDT in treating patients with chronic central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC) and has a lower risk of inducing choroidal hypoperfusion. Active central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC) is characterized by...

Intravitreal triamcinolone acetonide (ITA) does not improve the visual outcome of verteprofin photodynamic therapy (VPDT) for neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD), according to a new study. After the introduction of verteporfin for the treatment of subfoveal choroidal neovascularization (CNV), consideration was given to improving...

Scientists were able to produce a condition similar to geographic atrophy, the end stage of dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD), in genetically engineered mice that contain a retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) that does not secrete vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). It has recently been suggested that AMD arises due to a breakdown...

Investigators have shown, at 6 months in a small group of patients, that there is no difference in efficacy between Avastin (bevacizumab) and Lucentis (ranibizumab) for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The study is the first to report early outcomes of a prospective, double-masked, randomized, controlled trial comparing...

A new study examining the relationship between the choriocapillaris (CC) and retinal pigment epithelial changes in age-related macular degeneration (AMD) finds that the primary insult in geographic atrophy (GA) appears to be at the level of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), where retinal pigment epithelial atrophy preceeds secondary...

The visual outcome of patients undergoing Lucentis (ranibizumab) therapy for exudative age-related macular degeneration (AMD) under an as-needed dosing schedule is related to the number of injections received but not to the resolution of fluid by optical coherence tomography (OCT), according to a new research study. The ANCHOR and MARINA...

A recent report from Greece of two cases of miscarriage following Avastin (bevacizumab) injection raise concerns about possible risks of anti-VEGF therapy in women of child bearing age. The researchers report two cases of women who suffered an early loss of pregnancy following intravitreal Avastin injection. The fist case is of a 29-year-old...

As the debate rages over whether Lucentis or Avastin is the drug of choice for treating wet AMD, several papers appeared in the literature this past month that adds fuel to the fire. The new research makes choosing between these two drugs more difficult than ever. First, a retrospective chart review appearing in the British Journal of...

A new study finds that Avastin (bevacizumab) and Lucentis (ranibizumab) are equally effective at reducing central foveal point thickness (CFPT) and macular volume, but Avastin has a longer duration of action. Avastin is a monoclonal antibody against all isoforms of VEGF. It is approved by the FDA for the treatment of colorectal cancer. In 2005,...

A new study of patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD) treated with intravitreal Avastin (bevacizumab) on an as-needed basis over 2 years finds that 43% of patients experienced a 3-line or more improvement in visual acuity (VA) and an average of 4.9 injections were administered over the 24-month follow-up period. In the...

The PrONTO Study has released results from the second year of follow-up of patients with wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) that are treated with intravitreal Lucentis (ranibizumab) on an as-needed basis using optical coherence tomography (OCT) data that show as-needed treatment can achieve visual outcomes comparable to monthly Lucentis...

Exudative AMD patients with the compliment factor H (CFH Y402H) high risk genotype (CC) received approximately one more Lucentis injection over a 9 month follow-up period than persons who do not have the high risk genotype. Genetic studies have made advancements in establishing the molecular cause of AMD. Two genes that seem to greatly...

A recent study finds that women taking folic acid and B vitamins supplements have a lower risk of developing age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Recent studies indicate a direct association between homocysteine concentration in the blood and the risk of AMD, suggesting that homocysteine may be a modifiable risk factor for AMD. Homocysteine...

The AREDS study finds that there is no clinically important increased risk of progression to advanced AMD after cataract surgery. Concerns have been raised regarding the potential of cataract surgery to accelerate progression to advanced, vision-threatening forms of AMD. Largely because of the findings from two large epidemiologic studies of an...

A new research report from the AREDS study finds that fish oil consumption decreases the risk of progression to advanced stages of both wet and dry AMD. The Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) was a National Institutes of Health–sponsored study designed to assess the clinical course, prognosis, and risk factors of AMD. AREDS examined the...

Decreasing abdominal obesity results in a lower risk for age-related macular degeneration (AMD), according to a new study. There is good evidence that obesity is a risk factor for AMD. Numerous cross-sectional and longitudinal studies have found an association between body mass index (BMI) and AMD. However, several studies have failed to find...

A comprehensive review of the scientific literature by the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) suggests that anti-VEGF pharmacotherapy, delivered by intravitreal injection, is a safe and effective treatment for neovascular AMD for up to 2 years. There is high quality (Level 1) evidence to support this conclusion for Macugen (pegaptanib) and...

A new retrospective study of the biological response to Avastin in the treatment of neovascular AMD finds that there is a decrease in the effectiveness of the drug the longer it is used. A commonly encountered problem in drug therapy is the desensitization of the body to the drug such that it loses its effectiveness over time; a phenomena...

A new European population-based study finds that sunlight exposure increases the risk of wet AMD in those people with low serum antioxidant levels. It has been suggested that high-energy blue light from sunlight may be damaging to the retina. However, this is the first study to find an adverse association of blue light exposure with...

A new study reports that close monitoring of patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) can improve the ability to detect choroidal neovascularization (CNV) while it is still outside the fovea and vision is still good. Bilateral involvement is common in neovascular AMD, with approximately 10% of second eyes developing CNV each year...

A new report from the AREDS study group report that dietary ω-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid (fish oil) intake is associated with a 50% decreased risk of progression from bilateral drusen to central geographic atrophy (CGA). A reduced likelihood of progression from bilateral drusen to CGA was found among people who reported the highest...

Ocular Surgery News reports that results of four studies suggest that ophthalmologists and cardiologists should consider common risk factors for age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and cardiovascular disease. Cross-disciplinary awareness of the shared risk factors between cardiovascular disease and AMD is important in treating patients with...

Although Medicare has covered low-vision services performed by an ophthalmologist, optometrist, or occupational therapist since 2002, the number of service providers is limited, leaving many people without needed help. The Low Vision Demonstration Project offers some relief by expanding Medicare's coverage to include services provided by...

A wide-field telescope made of straight and curved mirrors and embedded into what appears to be a typical pair of glasses could make activities that require sharp distance vision, such as driving, easier for the vision impaired. "This new design has several advantages," said the inventor of the glasses, Eli Peli. "One major advantage is the...

A new study finds that patients with AMD have evidence of systemic activation of the alternative complement pathway (AP). Two lines of evidence have implicated inflammation in the development of AMD. First, drusen contain large amounts of material associated with inflammation and immune-mediated processes. Second are genetic studies that have...

When Don Curran first saw the portrait that Adam Hahn had painted of him, with part of his face a dark blur of confusion, he was delighted. Ten years ago, Curran was working as an airline executive when he was found to have the progressively blinding eye disease, age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Now, thanks to the portrait, the world can...

A recent systematic review of the literature finds evidence that cataract surgery worsens age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The literature review examined all scientific literature published on cataract surgery and macular degeneration. Surprisingly, only 7 research studies were found that were suitable for analysis. None of the 7...

Eating fish and other foods high in omega-3 fatty acids is associated with reduced risk for age-related macular degeneration (AMD), according to the results of a study reported in the June issue of the Archives of Ophthalmology. Intake of dietary omega-3 fatty acids and fish, the main dietary source of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids, has been...

Progress in the medical and surgical management of choroidal neovascularization (CNV) has lead to renewed interest in the field of macular function self-assessment. Earlier intervention, when CNV lesion size is smaller and visual acuity is better, improves the patient's visual outcome following any of the currently employed treatments for...

Intravitreal injection is currently the most common route of administration for AMD treatments, and most existing drugs as well as drugs in development are injected intravitreally. Unfortunately, this mode of drug delivery carries several important disadvantages, including risk of intraocular infection and the inconvenience and cost of frequent...

Ocular Surgery News presents a roundtable discussion with two prominent retinal specialists on the treatment of AMD; David M. Brown, MD, FACS of Houston, Texas and Steven D. Schwartz, MD of the Jules Stein Eye Institute, UCLA. Lucentis is beneficial for the treatment of exudative wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD), reducing the number...

A study in the June 2008 edition of the journal Ophthalmology finds that nearly 40 percent of those people with AMD likely to benefit from specific vitamin/mineral supplements were either not taking the supplements or not using the recommended dosage. The study also showed that some patients used high-dose supplements even in the absence of...

A new study published in the current edition of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition finds that there is no interaction between lutein and DHA (fish oil) supplementations for macular pigment optical density. Therefore, a person taking lutein and fish oil supplements concurrently can expect to obtain the same benefits from each as a person...