New drug offers new hope for AMD sufferers

A new drug holds promise for those with age-related macular degeneration, which is the leading cause of vision loss and blindness in older adults.

A team of ophthalmologists at the University of Iowa has shown that the drug, Eylea, can ease leaking and vision problems for wet AMD patients.

In a study involving 31 AMD patients at the UI Hospitals and Clinics, researchers report that half of the eyes treated with Eylea had reduced fluid after three monthly injections.

Moreover, in some cases subsequent bimonthly injections with Eylea were deemed as effective as monthly injections of Avastin and Lucentis over a similar time period, meaning fewer visits by patients and less cost.

The patients who tried out Eylea were 79 years old on average and all had undergone eye injections with Avastin and Lucentis, some dozens of times.

The UI study was a pilot, designed to test Eylea's effectiveness in a small cohort for six months.

The research was funded by the National Institutes of Health.