Randall V. Wong, M.D., Retinal Specialist
Treating diabetic retinopathy with both laser and anti-VEGF injections may be the best way to treat patients with diabetic macular edema. Diabetic macular edema is the most common "side effect" of diabetic retinopathy and is the leading cause of vision loss in patients with diabetes. The results of a large, multicenter, randomized clinical trial compared several … [Read more...]
VEGF-Trap (aka aflibercept), another anti-VEGF drug, moves closer to FDA approval as it received "priority review" status. This status means that the FDA process will be accelerated and the drug can be reviewed in 6 months versus the usual 10 month period. Alfibercept is another injectable drug that may have an effect on choroidal neovascularization in wet macular … [Read more...]
VEGF Trap-Eye (aflibercept) is another treatment for wet macular degeneration. The sponsoring pharmaceutical companies, Bayer and Regeneron, just reported favorable results in their own Phase III studies. Basically these studies compared aflibercept against well known Lucentis (ranibizumab). They report that VEGF Trap is just as good as Lucentis. Funny Name, But … [Read more...]
Preceeding the AAO, retina specialists have a 2 day meeting of their own. It's a time for me to take classes or instructional courses on subjects related to my sub-specialty of retinal disease. Other sub-specialists (cornea, pediatic ophthalmology, glaucoma) do the same. Our meeting is focused on all things retina...naturally. Not much new information was presented … [Read more...]
The standard treatment for diabetic macular edema is still laser photocoagulation (laser treatment). The treatment has been utilized for about 30 years, yet newer, and better, treatments are on the horizon. Diabetic macular edema is the biggest, most common, complication of diabetic retinopathy. Most patients with diabetes will develop some degree of this type of … [Read more...]
The decision to stop your eye treatment for wet macular degeneration should be easy...and guilt free. The anti-VEGF injections (treatment for wet macular degeneration) require multiple injections and many trips to the office. Injections are often recommended for over a year. It can be a real hassle and becomes a hardship for the friends and family... and … [Read more...]
How many anti-VEGF injections of Avastin or Lucentis are needed to treat wet macular degeneration? We don't know. While there is no question that anti-VEGF injections are the gold-standard for the treatment of ARMD, the exact way in which they are used varies from doctor to doctor. Standard of Care The standard of care for macular degeneration changed. The standard … [Read more...]
External beam radiation and Lucentis may be combined to treat wet macular degeneration. The results showed the treatment may be very safe and, when combined with anti-VEGF injections such as Lucentis, may decrease the need for frequently repeated injections. Neovascularization, the growth of abnormal blood vessels, underneath the macular defines "wet macular … [Read more...]
Injecting both Avastin and a steroid injection can be a useful way to treat stubborn macular edema from diabetic retinopathy. While both can be used alone to treat macular swelling in diabetic patients, the combination is sometimes considered as an alternative. Traditional Laser The gold standard has been to treat diabetic macular edema with laser treatment. This has … [Read more...]
Retinal ischemia causes VEGF to be liberated inside the eye. In cases of diabetes this can lead to diabetic retinal detachment or neovascular glaucoma. Treatments included pan-retinal photocoagulation (laser) or anit-VEGF medication such as Lucentis or Avastin. Ischemia results when oxygen supply does not meet oxygen demand to any tissue. Other examples are the … [Read more...]
I am a retina specialist (ophthalmologist) practicing in Fairfax, Virginia, just about 20 minutes from Washington D.C. I started this blog about 3 years ago and use it for educational purposes to … [Read More...]
