An update on photodynamic therapy in age-related macular degeneration

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of irreversible loss of central vision in people aged > 50 years in the western world. Until recently, the only proven treatment to reduce the risk of vision loss from its more severe neovascular form was laser photocoagulation, but this...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Expert opinion on pharmacotherapy Vol. 3; no. 7; p. 931
Main Authors:	Rechtman, Ehud, Ciulla, Thomas A, Criswell, Mark H, Pollack, Ayala, Harris, Alon
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	England 01-07-2002
Subjects:	Age Factors Humans Macular Degeneration - drug therapy Macular Degeneration - epidemiology Macular Degeneration - etiology Photochemotherapy Photosensitizing Agents - economics Photosensitizing Agents - therapeutic use Porphyrins - economics Porphyrins - therapeutic use
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Summary:	Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of irreversible loss of central vision in people aged > 50 years in the western world. Until recently, the only proven treatment to reduce the risk of vision loss from its more severe neovascular form was laser photocoagulation, but this treatment was suitable for only 15% of cases. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) with verteporfin was recently proposed to be effective in reducing the risk of visual loss for an estimated 20 - 30% of neovascular AMD patients. This review covers AMD epidemiology, the mechanism of PDT, the 2-year results of the two major clinical studies of PDT with verteporfin, the cost-effectiveness of PDT and the current research status of other drugs for PDT in AMD.
ISSN:	1465-6566
DOI:	10.1517/14656566.3.7.931