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Wet macular degeneration (nAMD), or yellow macular degeneration, is a retinal disease in which abnormal blood vessel growth develops in the area of the retina responsible for sharp vision. Wet macular degeneration is a disease of the aging population and typically affects both eyes over time. Without treatment, patients can gradually lose their ability to read, recognise faces and objects, and their quality of life can deteriorate significantly and rapidly. For almost two decades, the most effective treatment for nAMD has been vascular growth factor inhibitor therapy (anti-VEGF therapy), which very often involves the injection of various drugs from outside the eye.
“The results of conventional treatments are good as long as they are closely controlled and tested in clinical trials. However, once treatment protocols are relaxed, in real-life conditions it is common for treatments to be delayed or less frequent than necessary, and so visual acuity may start to decline. The treatment lasts a lifetime, and the constant checks are stressful,” Clinical Chief Physician at the Eye Clinic of the University of Debrecen Clinical Centre, Attila Vajas told hirek.unideb.hu.
Attila Vajas added that innovative gene therapy is a new approach to long-term treatment of the disease. In January this year, the University of Debrecen Eye Clinic was the first in Hungary to perform this gene therapy intervention.
“The sophisticated surgical procedure involves the introduction of a viral vector (AAV8 type) into certain layers of the retina. The outer envelope of the vector retains the ability to enter certain cells, along with the genetic map it carries. The vector carries the desired genetic code, which is activated in the target cells. The protein it produces is an inhibitory molecule (anti-VEGF protein fragment), which is very similar to what is injected into the eye from the outside during conventional therapies,” Attila Vajas said.
The new therapy could not only be a breakthrough in preserving vision, but could also significantly improve patients’ quality of life, reducing the need for ongoing treatments.
“Following gene therapy, the level of inhibitory molecules produced inside the eye is almost constant, eliminating the visual loss caused by irregular treatments. The evidence so far suggests that traditional therapies – external injection – are no longer needed or are rarely needed. Results from an earlier, similar study show that in both eyes, seventy-eight percent of patients remained injection-free for nine months after gene therapy, and in the remaining cases, at most one conventional treatment was required. Visual acuity was stable throughout,” said Attila Vajas.
He also emphasised that gene therapy is currently in the clinical trial phase and is not yet part of daily medical practice, but if the results remain promising, the method could revolutionise the treatment of wet macular degeneration and other serious ophthalmological diseases.
Source and photo credit:dehir.hu
