Latest Treatment for Macular Degeneration Available at
Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center

from Clinical Update, Summer 2005

Abstract: A newly approved drug may slow vision decline and help improve quality of life for patients with the wet form of macular degeneration.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently approved a new treatment for neovascular (wet) age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the eye disease associated with aging that destroys central vision. Macugen^™, the first in a new class of medicines for this disease, is given in the form of an injection into the eye.

“This new treatment can offer some patients a slower progression of their vision loss,” said Craig M. Greven, M.D., chair and professor of ophthalmology and director of the Wake Forest University Eye Center at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. “Preserving vision with this treatment can make a significant difference for some people and improve their quality of life. They may be able to perform their day-to-day activities such as driving and reading for a much longer time.”

Macugen works by targeting the protein — vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) — that triggers abnormal blood vessel growth and leakage in the macula, and causes the abnormal blood vessel to regress. With the new treatment, patients receive an injection every six weeks for up to two years.

In clinical trials, the rate of vision decline with the Macugen-treated group was slower than the rate among patients who received the placebo, says Greven. Although this treatment has the potential for helping more patients with the wet form of the disease, it is not effective for everyone and it doesn’t prevent or reverse the chronic changes of wet AMD, he cautions.

Other treatments for wet AMD include laser therapy and photodynamic laser therapy.

More than 15 million people in the United States live with some form of age-related macular degeneration. Over 200,000 new cases of wet AMD are diagnosed each year.

Dr. Craig Greven is a paid spokesperson of Pfizer, Inc., manufacturer of Macugen^™.