title: Guidelines for the management of neovascular age-related macular degeneration by the European Society of Retina Specialists (EURETINA).
abstract: Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is still referred to as the leading cause of severe and irreversible visual loss world-wide. The disease has a profound effect on quality of life of affected individuals and represents a major socioeconomic challenge for societies due to the exponential increase in life expectancy and environmental risks. Advances in medical research have identified vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) as an important pathophysiological player in neovascular AMD and intraocular inhibition of VEGF as one of the most efficient therapies in medicine. The wide introduction of anti-VEGF therapy has led to an overwhelming improvement in the prognosis of patients affected by neovascular AMD, allowing recovery and maintenance of visual function in the vast majority of patients. However, the therapeutic benefit is accompanied by significant economic investments, unresolved medicolegal debates about the use of off-label substances and overwhelming problems in large population management. The burden of disease has turned into a burden of care with a dissociation of scientific advances and real-world clinical performance. Simultaneously, ground-breaking innovations in diagnostic technologies, such as optical coherence tomography, allows unprecedented high-resolution visualisation of disease morphology and provides a promising horizon for early disease detection and efficient therapeutic follow-up. However, definite conclusions from morphologic parameters are still lacking, and valid biomarkers have yet to be identified to provide a practical base for disease management. The European Society of Retina Specialists offers expert guidance for diagnostic and therapeutic management of neovascular AMD supporting healthcare givers and doctors in providing the best state-of-the-art care to their patients.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  NCT01318941.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Medical University, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Ursula
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Schmidt-Erfurth
authors.affiliation: Oxford Eye Hospital, Oxford University Hospitals, Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: Victor
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Chong
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Tel Aviv Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel.
authors.forename: Anat
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Loewenstein
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Glostrup Hospital and University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Larsen
authors.affiliation: Hôpital Intercommunal de Créteil, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Souied
authors.affiliation: Medical Retina Unit and Ocular Angiogenesis Group, Department Of Ophthalmology, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Reinier
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Schlingemann
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Hacettepe University, School of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Bora
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Eldem
authors.affiliation: Centro Médico TEKNON, Director Institut de la Màcula i de la Retina, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Jordi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Monés
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Gisbert
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Richard
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, University Vita-Salute; Scientific Institute San Raffaele, Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bandello
mesh_terms: D020533:Angiogenesis Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D020256:Choroidal Neovascularization / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D008028:Light Coagulation / Q000379:methods; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D057135:Wet Macular Degeneration / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000601:surgery
chemical_list: D020533:Angiogenesis Inhibitors; C467484:VEGFA protein, human; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A
keywords: Retina