November 19, 2007 (New Orleans) — A single treatment of photodynamic therapy (PDT) combined with bevacizumab, triamcinolone, or bevacizumab plus dexamethasone can achieve long-lasting improvement in visual acuity among a significant percentage of patients with choroidal neovascularization (CNV) secondary to age-related macular degeneration (AMD), according to a new study presented here at the American Academy of Ophthalmology 2007 Annual Meeting.
Inhibiting vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) through injections into the vitreous humor has proved to effectively cause regression of the abnormal blood vessels and improve vision in some cases. However, the injections frequently have to be repeated on a monthly or bi-monthly basis. Frequent intravitreal anti-VEGF therapy is associated with increased safety risk, financial burden, and inconvenience.
The objective of the study was to determine the efficacy and duration of effect of a single-session combination treatment for CNV in exudative AMD. Combination therapy with agents targeting different components of CNV pathophysiology may have additive effects, according to HarHiu Dawn Lam, MD, ophthalmology fellow at the University of California in San Francisco. For example, PDT uses a dye that binds to leaky vessels and destroys them; anti-VEGF agents (such as bevacizumab) prevent antiangiogenesis; corticosteroids (dexamethasone, triamcinolone) have anti-inflammatory and angiostatic effects.
