New treatments for neovascular acute macular degeneration

doi:10.1136/bmj.39100.460671.BE

BMJ 2007;334:269-270 (10 February), doi:10.1136/bmj.39100.460671.BE

Editorials

New treatments for neovascular acute macular degeneration

Drugs that inhibit vascular endothelial growth factor show realpromise

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

The term macular degeneration covers a spectrumof chronic and acute changes in the macular retina of both eyesand occurs in people aged 50 and above. One of the acute degenerativechanges, choroidal neovascularisation, comprises an ingrowthof permeable and fragile new vessels from the choroid into theepithelial and subretinal spaces of the pigment layer,¹ stimulatedby pathological secretion of vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF). In the United Kingdom choroidal neovascularisation causessevere visual impairment or blindness in around 3.5% of peopleaged 75 or more.²

Discovery of the role of vascular endothelialgrowth factor led to hypotheses that blocking or neutralisingthis factor might yield a treatment for choroidal neovascularisation.³Clinicians had low expectations of success, however, becauseother new types of treatments had shown limited or no benefit.Moreover, the biological agents that induce blockade of thefactor have many unwanted side effects. Given systemically,these . . . [Full text of this article]

Usha Chakravarthy, professor of ophthalmology and vision sciences¹, Jennifer I Lim, associate professor of ophthalmology²

¹ The Queen's University of Belfast, Belfast BT12 6BA, Northern Ireland, ² Doheny Retina Institute of the Doheny Eye Institute, University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine

u.chakravarthy@qub.ac.uk

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