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New treatments for age related macular degeneration

Treatment of age related macular degeneration (AMD) has progressed dramatically in the last 10 years, particularly in the neovascular stage of the disease. This has been accomplished in part through greater understanding of the pathophysiology of neovascular AMD and the role of VEGF in vessel growth and leakage. Anti‐VEGF treatment halts vision loss in more than 90% of patients, and leads to vision improvement in a third. Ideally, however, we would like to develop treatments that can prevent AMD or halt its progression as well as to prevent any vision loss, and this requires greater understanding of the earliest events in AMD. Genetic studies have identified associations with the CFH gene and HTRA‐1 gene amongst others, suggesting key pathways in the disease process. Delineating the dysfunction in these pathways through additional genetic and functional studies, and then developing effective interventions, is the current goal of AMD research. In addition, investigators seek to refine our current therapies as well as to improve current diagnostic modalities in order to better characterize the phenotype of AMD patients. Finally, since photoreceptor loss is the ultimate cause of vision loss in patients with AMD as well as other retinal disorders, investigations are ongoing to identify the molecular pathways of photoreceptor cell death and test therapies that might be used for neuroprotection.