Triple therapy improves vision in AMD

Simultaneous treatment with three modalities (triple therapy) may improve or stabilise the vision of patients with neovascular (abnormal formation of new blood vessels) age-related macular degeneration (AMD). AMD is the most common cause of blindness in adults of 55 years of age and above. Neovascular or wet AMD accounts for just 8 per cent of cases, but is responsible for 85 per cent of the severe vision loss caused by the disease. Photodynamic therapy, a popular treatment for the condition, uses light energy to reduce the abnormal blood vessel formation that occurs in the disease. Researchers from Labbafinejad Medical Center, Tehran, studied 17 patients with neovascular AMD in one of the eyes and treated them with single-session photodynamic therapy followed by bevacizumab and triamcinolone injections into the eyes of the patients suffering from AMD, followed by repeat injection 48 hours later. The study was based on the hypothesis that the combination of photodynamic therapy and injections of bevacizumab and triamcinolone could interrupt the pathway leading to AMD. Photodynamic therapy was limited to one session in the treatment protocol to reduce the cost of treatment and the potential side effects of photodynamic therapy. Significant improvements in vision were noted in most eyes at 12 and 24 weeks. Vision improved in 11 eyes and remained unchanged in 6 eyes 12 weeks after initial treatment. After 24 weeks, vision improved in 13 eyes and remained unchanged in 4 eyes. Triple therapy has shown promising results in treating patients with neovascular AMD, but further research is warranted to confirm the results of the study.