[New therapies for age-related macular degeneration].
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a major cause of blindness in the elderly in developed countries. New treatments have been developed, and they can be grouped into those that selectively disrupt new vessels, e.g., photodynamic therapy; and those that target molecules that play an important role in angiogenesis, e.g., anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) drugs. Ranibizumab, the anti-VEGF-drug, was the first drug that led to an improvement of visual acuity. However, a disadvantage of this drug is the need of repeated injection, and to overcome this disadvantage, gene therapy and some other methods are being studied. A clinical trial of gene therapy is being performed in the U.S.A. In this review, we describe the new therapies for AMD.
Kachi
Shu
S
Department of Ophthalmology, Nagoya University School of Medicine, 65 Tsuruma-cho, Showa-ku, Nagoya 466-8550, Japan. kachishu-ngy@umin.ac.jp
Ishikawa
Kohei
K
Terasaki
Hiroko
H
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D061067:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized; D064987:Cell- and Tissue-Based Therapy; D020256:Choroidal Neovascularization; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D015316:Genetic Therapy; D006801:Humans; D008268:Macular Degeneration / Q000145:classification / Q000209:etiology* / Q000628:therapy*; D010778:Photochemotherapy; D000069579:Ranibizumab; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A
D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D061067:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A; D000069579:Ranibizumab