Diabetic Macular Edema

A new class of ophthalmic drug continues to show promise for treating patients with diabetic macular edema (DME).

When it comes to finding new treatments for diabetic macular edema (DME), there is no shortage of promising targets, said Peter A. Campochiaro, MD. He presented an overview of future compounds with various mechanisms of action that may change how clinicians treat DME.

Earlier treatment of patients with DME who have had visual acuity loss results in the need for fewer intravitreal injections of ranibizumab over the long term.

The increasing prevalence of diabetes, which implies a rise in the number of cases of diabetic retinopathy, suggests that ophthalmologists need to ensure their knowledge of this disease is up-to-date. Hazy memories of a long-ago medical school lecture from an endocrinologist or the guidelines in an outdated textbook are inadequate given changes in the understanding of the pathogenesis, diagnosis, and especially the treatment of diabetes.

A real-world safety study of fluocinolone acetonide implant (Iluvien, Alimera Sciences) in patients with chronic DME (328 eyes from 292 patients) showed that 81.6% of patients did not require initiation of IOP-lowering therapy during the study and 60% of patients included in this registry study gained vision after injection of Iluvien that was sustained over the study period.

As a physician passionate about treating and helping patients with retinal disease, I continuously seek out and study new treatment modalities. It can be a very scary time for patients when faced with retinal conditions, such as macular degeneration, retinal detachments, and diabetic macular edema (DME).

A new analysis of an old study suggests that early response to agents that block vascular endothelial growth factor can predict longer-term improvement in visual acuity in patients with DME.

Results from TIME-2, a phase IIA study, support further development of combination treatment with subcutaneous injection of the Tie2 activator, AKB-9778 (Aerpio Therapeutics), plus intravitreous (IVT) anti-VEGF injection for diabetic macular edema.

Results from a phase I study of KVD001 (KalVista Pharmaceuticals) for the treatment of central involved diabetic macular edema (CIDME) show that this plasma kallikrein inhibitor was well-tolerated, not associated with any ophthalmic or systemic safety signals, and led to fairly long-lasting improvements in visual acuity (VA) and central retinal thickness (CRT) after a single intravitreous injection.

Diabetic retinopathy and diabetic macular oedema are both increasing in Spain, especially among relatively young people, researchers said.

Treatment with fluocinolone acetonide 0.2 µg/day significantly reduced progression to proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) in patients who were part of the FAME trials1,2 and had visual acuity loss due to diabetic macular edema (DME), according to Charles C. Wykoff, MD, PhD.

The topics of special interest to retina specialists during 2015 include optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) and screening for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). Important research is taking place to determine the etiology of angiogenesis, possibly leading to targeting therapies in age-related macular degeneration (AMD), ROP, and diabetic retinopathy.

Data show that the combination of navigated laser and anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) compares favorably with anti-VEGF monotherapy.

One center’s initial post-marketing experience with the fluocinolone acetonide intravitreal implant 0.19 mg demonstrates favorable outcomes and good patient acceptance.

A novel ophthalmic micropump system, implanted through minimally invasive surgery, is able to deliver the appropriate amount of drug needed at determined intervals, according to Mark S. Humayun, MD, PhD.

ALG-1001 is the first of a new class of drugs, integrin peptide therapy, now going through clinical trials for patients with age-related macular degeneration, diabetic macular edema, and vitreomacular traction.

Medical advances run gamut from AMD to symptomatic vitreomacular adhesion