Trial Finds Two Drugs Effective In Restoring Vision for Elderly with Macular Degeneration

There is encouraging news about the treatment of age-related macular degeneration at the conclusion of a two-year clinical trial. The study concluded the two widely used treatment drugs – Avastin (bevacizumab) and Lucentis (ranibizumab injection) – are both effective in producing “a robust and lasting improvement in vision” in battling the leading cause of blindness in seniors.

The drugs improve vision when administered monthly or on an as-needed basis, although greater improvements in vision were seen with monthly administration for the common eye disease, according to researchers supported by the National Institutes of Health. The average age of the patients tested was over 80 years of age.

In its advanced stages, the wet form of age-related macular degeneration spurs the growth of abnormal blood vessels, which leak fluid and blood into the macula and obscure vision. The macula is the central portion of the retina that allows us to look straight ahead and to perceive fine visual detail. Without treatment, most patients are unable to drive, read, recognize faces or perform tasks that require hand-eye coordination.

“The dramatic and lasting improvement in vision with these two drugs is extraordinary. At two years, two-thirds of patients had driving vision. With previous treatments, only 15 percent of patients retained similar visual acuity,” said Maureen Maguire, Ph.D., principal investigator, CATT Coordinating Center at the University of Pennsylvania.

 For more about the two-year trial, go to http://www.nei.nih.gov/news/pressreleases/043012.asp