THURSDAY, April 26 (HealthDay News) -- Lucentis is an effective treatment for neovascularized age-related macular degeneration, improving visual acuity and reducing retinal thickness, according to a report in the April issue of the American Journal of Ophthalmology. However, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Genentech recently issued an advisory that higher doses of the drug are associated with an increased stroke risk in patients with a history of stroke.
In the study, Philip J. Rosenfeld, M.D., Ph.D., from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine in Florida, and colleagues studied 40 patients with age-related macular degeneration and subfoveal choroidal neovascularization with a central retinal thickness of at least 300 microns. Patients received three consecutive intravitreal injections of 0.5 mg of ranibizumab (marketed by Genentech as Lucentis), after which further injections were given based on visual acuity, changes in central retinal thickness and other criteria.
After a year and a mean of 5.6 injections, the researchers found significant improvements in visual acuity (by 9.3 letters), with 35 percent of patients improving by at least 15 letters, as well as significant reductions in retinal thickness (by 178 microns). After achieving a fluid-free macula, another injection became necessary after a mean of 4.5 months.
Noting that ranibizumab costs $2,000 per injection, "it is obvious that monthly treatment is an expensive and burdensome ordeal," Richard Spaide, M.D., from Vitreous, Retina, Macula Consultants of New York in New York City, writes in an accompanying editorial. "The good news is that it works."
The study was partially supported by Genentech.
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