title: An Update on Intravitreal Injections for Macular Diseases: Friend or Foe?
abstract: The purpose of this article is to review the role of intravitreal injections of medications in the treatment of the two common macular diseases, macular edema and age related macular degeneration (AMD). We perform literature search by search engine Pubmed till May 2011, using keywords 'intravitreal injections', 'age-related macular degeneration' and 'macular edema' to retrieve relevant review articles and original papers. To conclude, with advance in technology, intravitreal injections of medications may have become an integral part of our ability to treat a wide range of macular diseases. The use of ranibizumab, pegaptanib in the treatment of neovascular AMD and TA in the treatment of various causes of macular edema have shown promising results in a number of prospective randomized controlled trials, with low risk of complications reported.
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Prince of Wales Hospital, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Vesta C K
authors.initials: VC
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.forename: David T
authors.initials: DT
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Dennis S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Lam