Special features

Macular degeneration — Advances in treatment

By Selwa El-Beik, BSc, MRPharmS, and Rachel Elliott, PhD, MRPharmS

This article describes progress in the treatment of age-related macular degeneration, focusing on a new class of drugs which may be able to reverse vision loss. The medicines management considerations of these drugs are also discussed

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Selwa El-Beik is medicines information manager at Central Manchester and Manchester Children’s University Hospitals NHS Trust.

Rachel Elliott is clinical senior lecturer at the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Manchester.

Visual acuity tests

Visual acuity tests are used to evaluate the effectiveness of new treatments for age-related macular degeneration

SUMMARY

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a degenerative disease and is one of the leading causes of sight loss in the UK. There are approximately 26,000 new cases of AMD diagnosed in the UK each year.

About 10 per cent of people with AMD have the “wet” type, which is the most severe (see p151). The aim of pharmacological therapy for people with wet AMD is to alter the progression of vision loss. However, the advent of new drugs with the potential to revert the disease (those targeting vascular endothelial growth factor [VEGF]), heralds a new era in treatment.

This article describes the current treatment options for wet AMD, including photocoagulation and photodynamic therapy. It then examines evidence for the effectiveness and safety of the newer drugs, and discusses the medicines management considerations.

Full text article PDF (60K)