[HTML][HTML] Therapeutic targets in age-related macular disease

AC Bird - The Journal of clinical investigation, 2010 - Am Soc Clin Investig
The Journal of clinical investigation, 2010Am Soc Clin Investig
Age-related macular disease (AMD) accounts for more than 50% of blind registration in
Western society. Patients with AMD are classified as having early disease, in which visual
function is well preserved, or late disease, in which central vision is lost. Until recently, there
was no therapy available by which the course of the disorder could be modified. Now, the
most common form of late-stage AMD—choroidal neovascularization—responds to
treatment with anti-VEGF therapies; although visual loss is modified in a portion of these …
Age-related macular disease (AMD) accounts for more than 50% of blind registration in Western society. Patients with AMD are classified as having early disease, in which visual function is well preserved, or late disease, in which central vision is lost. Until recently, there was no therapy available by which the course of the disorder could be modified. Now, the most common form of late-stage AMD — choroidal neovascularization — responds to treatment with anti-VEGF therapies; although visual loss is modified in a portion of these cases, no therapeutic approach exists that alters the evolution from early to late disease. However, as discussed in this Review, research over the last few years has demonstrated several features of AMD that are likely to be amenable to treatment. Potential targets for treatment are described, and possible therapeutic approaches are discussed.
The Journal of Clinical Investigation