August 18th 2025
Catch up on recent advancements in retina care, including new therapies for age-related macular degeneration and macular telangiectasia, enhancing patient outcomes.
Intravitreal brimonidine holds promise for slowing GA growth
October 23rd 2017Brimonidine Drug Delivery System (Brimo DDS) in an intravitreally administered, sustained-release implant (Allergan) shows promise as a treatment for geographic atrophy (GA), secondary to age-related macular degeneration in a phase IIa clinical trial.
Novel brolucizumab fosters as real-world alternative for nAMD
October 23rd 2017Topline results from phase III studies investigating intravitreal brolucizumab (Novartis) for treatment of neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) support the potential of this novel anti-VEGF antibody to meet the real-world need for an alternative agent with a sustainable therapeutic regimen.
Real-world outcomes with aflibercept better in treatment-naïve patients
July 1st 2017After 12 months of treatment with intravitreal aflibercept injections, both treatment-naïve and pre-treated patients demonstrated visual acuity gains. Visual acuity improvement was higher in treatment-naïve patients.
Anti-PDGF inhibitor development continues despite negative results
June 23rd 2017Despite the failure of 2 clinical trials involving a combination therapy of platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) inhibitor and anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) therapy, a third phase III study continues.
5-year CATT analysis finds anti-VEGF drugs a long-term AMD therapy
June 23rd 2017After 5 years of follow-up in the Comparison of Age-Related Macular Degeneration Treatments Trials (CATT), the visual acuity gains achieved during the first 2 years of anti-VEGF treatment were not maintained, the choroidal neovascular lesions continued to evolve with evidence of persistent activity in some eyes, and there was increased retinal thinning and geographic atrophy (GA).
Retina surgeon’s AMD regimen at center of Medicare fraud case
May 25th 2017Earlier this month, a jury convicted West Palm Beach retina surgeon Solomon Melgen, MD, on 67 counts of Medicare fraud. This high-profile case hit very close to home, as myself and another retina specialist from my own community were on opposing sides of the case.
Investigational wet AMD therapies aim for innovative targets
March 24th 2017Many investigational drugs under development for the treatment of neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nvAMD) have advanced into the clinical trial stage, including several that are being evaluated in pivotal trials, said Peter K. Kaiser, MD.
Failed cell therapy study offers positives, raises new questions
March 24th 2017Patients with a history of frequent anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) injections for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) may not be the best potential candidates for encapsulated cell technology (ECT).
Treatment for geographic atrophy lacks efficacy in Phase 2 study
February 17th 2017In a placebo-controlled, dose-finding, proof-of-concept study conducted in patients with geographic atrophy secondary to age-related macular degeneration, an anti-amyloid β monoclonal antibody (GSK933776, GlaxoSmithKline) was safe and well-tolerated, but did not meet primary or secondary efficacy endpoints.
System offers advanced capabilities in OCT, OCTA
February 15th 2017The recent FDA clearance of a swept-source optical coherence tomography (OCT) and OCT angiography (OCTA) platform (PLEX Elite 9000, Carl Zeiss Meditec) for posterior ocular structures enables fast, dense, wide, and deep imaging of the retina, choroid, and their associated microvasculature, said Philip J. Rosenfeld, MD, PhD.
‘Ideal’ disease control leads to better nAMD outcomes
January 24th 2017Neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) is well-known as a heterogeneous disease with variable natural history and variable treatment response, said Carl D. Regillo, MD, FACS. Many patients do well without monthly treatment as noted in HARBOR PRN arms.
Treat-and-extend may lead to better AMD results
January 24th 2017Treating neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) patients with anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) ranibizumab (Lucentis, Genentech) on a monthly regimen has produced “great results” in clinical trials, said Prof. Mark C. Gillies, MBBS, PhD. “But what happens after that and what happens in real world practice?”
Researchers reject vitamin D role in macular degeneration
November 30th 2016Analyzing data from the European Eye Study, Gareth J. McKay, PhD, of Queen’s University in Belfast, United Kingdom, and colleagues in 7 countries in Europe found no meaningful association between serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D (25(OH)D) and AMD. They published the finding in Ophthalmology.
CATT follow-up explores long-term outcomes with anti-VEGF in AMD
September 15th 2016The Comparison of Age-related Macular Degeneration Treatment Trial (CATT) follow-up study found that the initial gains in visual acuity achieved with two anti-vascular endothelial growth factor drugs were lower than those achieved at the end of the 2-year CATT study.