NEW ORLEANS, Nov. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Two particularly notable research
presentations at the American Academy of Ophthalmology's Annual Meeting
described new approaches to the treatment of "wet" Age-Related Macular
Degeneration (AMD), the most common cause of severe vision loss in the
western world in people over age 50.
"Wet" AMD is responsible for the majority of AMD-related vision loss.
It is characterized by the abnormal growth of blood vessels under the
retina (a sensitive area at the back of the eye). New treatments that act
on "wet" AMD's abnormal blood vessel growth, such as Avastin and Lucentis,
have allowed some patients to obtain meaningful and sustained improvements
in vision. These types of medications are sometimes combined with a laser
treatment called photodynamic therapy (PDT) and are useful for some "wet"
AMD patients. In the United States pharmacotherapies are the most common
treatment approach. In parts of the world where injection therapy and PDT
may not be available, surgical treatment may be the best alternative.
Milam A Brantley, Jr., MD, PhD, an assistant professor of ophthalmology
and visual sciences at Washington University School of Medicine, spoke on
how genetic factors may affect the success of Avastin (bevacizumab)
treatment; and Zhizhong Ma, MD, a professor of ophthalmology and deputy
director at Peking University Eye Center, Beijing, China, described a
surgical technique for "wet" AMD that improved vision in 70% of her study's
Dr. Brantley's study is the first to link genetic factors to patients'
response to Avastin treatment for "wet" AMD. Previous studies had found
variants in two genes, CFH and LOC387715, to be associated with AMD. Dr.
Brantley's study looked at 86 patients to see whether having either of
these genetic variants affected their responses to Avastin.
"We found that patients with two copies of the CFH variant faired
significantly worse than the others in response to treatment with Avastin,"
Dr. Brantley said, "but we saw no differences in treatment response with
the LOC387715 variant. We hope that our study and future, similar research
might lead to the development of more individualized AMD treatments that
will be more effective and economical."
Adjusting patients' treatments based on genetic tests is also underway
or in development in other areas of medicine, such as breast cancer.
New surgical approaches to "wet" AMD are being explored by
ophthalmologists around the world. The technique developed by Dr. Ma's
group in Beijing, China, achieved unprecedented success in improving
patients' vision while also maintaining transplant tissue integrity and
incurring fewer complications during or after surgery. This could make a
significant difference in AMD treatment in certain population groups.
About the American Academy of Ophthalmology
AAO is the world's largest association of eye physicians and surgeons
-- Eye M.D.s -- with more than 27,000 members worldwide. Eye health care is
provided by the three "O's" -- opticians, optometrists and
ophthalmologists. It is the ophthalmologist, or Eye M.D., who can treat it
all: eye diseases and injuries, and perform eye surgery. For more
information, visit the Academy's Web site at http://www.aao.org.
SOURCE American Academy of Ophthalmology