Age Related Macular Degeneration Treatment Possibilities
If you have been diagnosed with Age Related Macular Degeneration (ARMD), then you likely are wondering if there are any Age Related Macular Degeneration treatment options for you. While the disease cannot be cured, it can be delayed or lessened through special treatments, depending on whether you have wet or dry ARMD. Dry ARMD comes on gradually and often only affects one eye. Wet ARMD, on the other hand, can progress very quickly and causes blood vessels in the macula to leak.
Wet ARMD has several methods of treatment. This is the most severe form of the disease and treatment plans are started as soon as it is diagnosed. Laser treatment is the most widely recommended form of treatment because it is used to destroy the leaking blood vessels underneath the retina. Sometimes laser treatments do not work well and drug therapy and surgery are recommended.
Several drugs are being tried in an effort to treat the wet form of the disease. VEGF is a protein that signals blood vessels to grow uncontrollably under the retina. There are several drugs that are being tried to combat the disease. Macugen is approved by the FDA and is given to the patient via injections which are given every six weeks for about two years. Another potential treatment for ARMD is Lucentis which is a VEGF antibody and is awaiting FDA approval. Another drug, Avastin is also being tested to treat ARMD. It is injected right into the eye itself and preliminary findings are positive. Evizon is another drug that stops the angiogenic growth of VEGF factors. It is administered via IV and early results show that some improvement in vision is occurring in patients receiving the therapy.
Dry ARMD is treated quite differently than wet ARMD. Its form of the disease gradually worsens over time and can often be treated during the progression. The disease is best treated during the early stages because once it reaches the advanced stage there is permanent vision loss. The best treatment options available are high-doses of antioxidants and zinc which delay the progression of the disease. This is the most widely used method of treating the disease and seems to work quite well in most patients.
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