Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2010 Apr 26:4:275-83.
doi: 10.2147/opth.s6448.

Antiangiogenic drugs in the management of ocular diseases: Focus on antivascular endothelial growth factor

Yukio Sassa  1 , Yasuaki Hata
Affiliations

Antiangiogenic drugs in the management of ocular diseases: Focus on antivascular endothelial growth factor

Yukio Sassa et al. Clin Ophthalmol. .

Abstract

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) complications are the leading cause of severe vision loss among the aging population in the many western countries. The introduction of molecular inhibitors of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), such as pegaptanib, ranibizumab, and bevacizumab, as treatments for wet AMD has provided new hope for affected patients. Now we have these treatment options, which have the possibility to improve or maintain visual acuity for patients suffering from AMD. The treatment needs to be optimized and this is in progress. Based on emerging evidence, adopting a variable VEGF inhibitor-dosing strategy guided by visual acuity assessment and optical coherence tomography are now being tried to reduce the frequency of injections. VEGF inhibitors in combination with photodynamic therapy are another way to optimize treatment. Physicians are waiting for new guidelines for the management of AMD and the results of current and upcoming trials systematically addressing these issues will be expected to provide it.

Keywords: VEGF inhibitor; age-related macular degeneration; bevacizumab; pegaptanib; ranibizumab; verteporfin.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. The Eye Diseases Prevalence Research Group; Causes and prevalence of visual impairment among adults in the United States. Arch Ophthalmol. 2004;122:477–485. - PubMed
    1. Ferris FL, III, Fine SL, Hyman L. Age-related macular degeneration and blindness due to neovascular maculopathy. Arch Ophthalmol. 1984;102:1640–1642. - PubMed
    1. Bressler NM Treatment of Age-Related Macular Degeneration with Photodynamic Therapy (TAP) Study Group. Photodynamic therapy of subfoveal choroidal neovascularization in age-related macular degeneration with verteporfin: two-year results of 2 randomized clinical trials-tap report 2. Arch Ophthalmol. 2001;119:198–207. - PubMed
    1. Verteporfin Roundtable 2000 and 2001 Participants; Treatment of age-related macular degeneration with photodynamic therapy (TAP) study group principal investigators; Verteporfin in photodynamic therapy (VIP) study group principal investigators. Guidelines for using verteporfin (Visudyne) in photodynamic therapy to treat choroidal neovascularization due to age-related macular degeneration and other causes. Retina. 2002;22:6–18. - PubMed
    1. Verteporfin Roundtable Participants. Guidelines for using verteporfin (Visudyne) in photodynamic therapy for choroidal neovascularization due to age-related macular degeneration and other causes: update. Retina. 2005;25:119–134. - PubMed