Treatment of wet AMD requires monthly or bimonthly injections of drugs called
Wet AMD. For patients with wet AMD, caused by new, leaky blood vessels growing into the retina, lost vision can sometimes be regained following injections into the eye of what are known as anti-VEGF antibodies. These include the drugs brolucizumab (Beovu®) aflibercept (Eylea®), and ranibizumab (Lucentis®).
The most common treatment doctors use to slow vision loss from wet AMD is called anti-VEGF injections. These medicines help stop bleeding and leaking from blood vessels in the back of your eye. Most people with wet AMD will get anti-VEGF injections as their only treatment.
Gene therapy for wet AMD
Gene therapy is a promising alternative to ongoing eye injections of drugs such as Eyelea, Lucentis and Avastin. The goal of gene therapy is to provide a 'one-and-done' treatment by helping the eye make its own anti-VEGF medicine.
If your optometrist suspects you have wet AMD, you should be referred to a retinal specialist at a hospital directly and seen within one to two weeks, and if applicable be treated within two weeks after initial detection.
Although there's no cure for wet macular degeneration, there are treatments to slow the disease and prevent your eyesight from getting worse. If you start treatment early enough, you might be able to regain some of your lost vision. The macula is the part of your retina you need to see clearly straight ahead.
Eating healthy, getting regular exercise, and quitting smoking can also help. If you have intermediate AMD in 1 or both eyes, special dietary supplements (vitamins and minerals) may be able to stop it from turning into late AMD. If you have late AMD in only 1 eye, these supplements may slow down AMD in your other eye.
Apellis Pharmaceuticals announced on February 17, 2023, that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Syfovre (pegcetacoplan injection) for geographic atrophy (GA) secondary to age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
Wet (exudative) AMD: accounts for 10% of AMD but results in 90% of blindness. Severe rapid visual loss occurs.
The biggest risk factor for both types of AMD is age, with people age 55-64 having a 0.2 percent risk of developing AMD, and those older than 84 having a 13.1 percent risk. Smoking cigarettes increases the risk of developing AMD by a factor of two to four, and the risk persists many years after stopping smoking.
Among people with wet macular degeneration, 20–30% of those receiving these injections will lose at least six lines of vision, in comparison with 50–60% of those who do not receive this treatment.
There are two forms of AMD: dry and wet. It is possible for a person to suffer from both forms and for the disease to progress slowly or rapidly.
There's no cure for macular degeneration, but there are ways to manage the condition and slow its progression. Treatment options for age-related macular degeneration (AMD) vary depending on whether you have dry or wet macular degeneration, as well as what stage your condition is in: early, intermediate, or late.
Doctors are not sure what causes AMD. The condition is rare before age 55. It occurs most in people 75 years or older.
Which is worse, dry or wet macular degeneration? Wet macular degeneration is more serious and is the leading cause of permanent central vision loss. Though the dry type is less serious, it can lead to the wet type if not monitored closely by a doctor.
Wet. Though this type is less common, it usually leads to more severe vision loss in patients than dry AMD. It is the most common cause of severe loss of vision.
On February 17, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave the go-ahead for pegcetacoplan, to be marketed as Syfovre, bringing new hope to people diagnosed with geographic atrophy (GA), also known as advanced dry macular degeneration.
Treatment of wet AMD requires monthly or bimonthly injections of drugs called anti-VEGF — or anti-vascular endothelial growth factor — into the eye.
In the wet type, new blood vessels grow beneath and within the retina. These blood vessels tend to burst, which is what causes the loss of central vision. LASIK is not a treatment for any type of AMD.
The inadequate supply of oxygen indirectly caused due to stress is implicated to be the factor responsible for the worsening of vision. There is also a close link between wet macular degeneration and inflammation both of which could be associated with stress.
There is a new injectable drug treating both types of macular degeneration offering a more flexible dosing regimen than present medications. Vabysmo has recently been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The frequency of the eye injections depends on the condition, the severity of retinal swelling, and the potency of the medication used. Some can be repeated every 3 months while the most common ones must be administered every 4-6 weeks to maximize the efficiency of the therapy.