title: Photodynamic therapy for choroidal neovascular disease: photosensitizers and clinical trials.
abstract: Photodynamic therapy with visudyne for choroidal neovascular disease (CNV) has proved effective at preventing moderate to severe visual loss in eyes with subfoveal predominantly classic CNV or occult-only CNV caused by age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and in eyes with subfoveal CNV caused by pathologic myopia. PDT is not meant to improve visual acuity. It should, therefore, be used in eyes with potentially useful macular vision. Clinical trials are under way to evaluate the usefulness of early retreatment with PDT and visudyne at 6 weeks for reducing the risk for moderate visual loss in eyes with predominantly classic CNV, the efficacy of PDT with visudyne for the treatment of AMD in eyes with minimally classic CNV, and the efficacy of PDT for use with SnET2, lutetium texaphyrin, and Npe6.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Doheny Retina Institute, University of California Keck School of Medicine, #3612, 1450 San Pablo Street, Los Angeles, California 90033, USA. jlim@dei.hsc.usc.edu
authors.forename: Jennifer I
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Lim
mesh_terms: D020256:Choroidal Neovascularization / Q000188:drug therapy*; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D006801:Humans; D010778:Photochemotherapy; D017319:Photosensitizing Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D017319:Photosensitizing Agents