MACULAR DEGENERATION THERAPIES

Two recent developments in the treatment of the 'wet' form of AMD are photodynamic therapy and macular translocation. In photodynamic therapy, effusive new blood vessels are highlighted either by a dye or by an infra red technology and then eliminated by laser surgery. More recently, a drug (visidyne) which is taken up by the damaged tissue, enhances the effort of the laser therapy. This means that a more effective treatment with less laser dosage is possible. The other technique of macular translocation is an innovative surgical approach by which the central 'reading' area of the retina is surgically relocated to another position in the retina. This technique is a novel one and, while an encouraging rate of success in improving vision in cases of 'wet' AMD has been claimed, its longer-term benefits have yet to be established.