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Anti-VEGF therapies for age-related macular degeneration: a powerful tactical gear or a blunt weapon? The choice is ours
PURPOSE: Blindness and vision loss are still frequent disabilities associated with a relevant impact on health care and quality of life, and a high economic burden. Supranational programs established by the World Health Organization (WHO), International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB),...
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
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Springer Berlin Heidelberg
2021
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Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8526354/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34669026 http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00417-021-05451-2 |
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author | Lanzetta, Paolo |
author_facet | Lanzetta, Paolo |
author_sort | Lanzetta, Paolo |
collection | PubMed |
description | PURPOSE: Blindness and vision loss are still frequent disabilities associated with a relevant impact on health care and quality of life, and a high economic burden. Supranational programs established by the World Health Organization (WHO), International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB), and World Health Assembly (WHA) aim at reducing avoidable visual impairment. Age-related macular degeneration (AMD), diabetic retinopathy (DR), and other retinal diseases are well known causes of visual disability. Since more than a decade, intravitreal agents are available for the treatment of these diseases. The aim of this study is to review whether pharmacotherapy with anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) drugs has led to a decrease in the prevalence of blindness with emphasis on AMD and different countries. A brief analysis of other factors correlated to changes in the rate of blindness is also presented. METHODS: PubMed and Scopus web platforms were used to identify relevant studies on epidemiology of blindness and vision impairment, the influence of intravitreal therapies, and the existence of different vision care models. Additional data and material was searched in web internet accessed by the web browser Firefox. RESULTS: Age-standardized prevalence of blindness secondary to AMD has started to decline as testified by a number of studies in different countries. This is due to the adoption of anti-VEGF therapy and its adequate management. The frequency of treatment and regimens applied are indirect signs of successful treatment. Local rules and regulations may represent an obstacle. CONCLUSIONS: This review shows that by implementing existing health care systems and dispensing adequate therapies in the field of retinal diseases, the prevalence of blindness due to these conditions can decline. [Image: see text] |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-8526354 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2021 |
publisher | Springer Berlin Heidelberg |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-85263542021-10-20 Anti-VEGF therapies for age-related macular degeneration: a powerful tactical gear or a blunt weapon? The choice is ours Lanzetta, Paolo Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol Mini Review PURPOSE: Blindness and vision loss are still frequent disabilities associated with a relevant impact on health care and quality of life, and a high economic burden. Supranational programs established by the World Health Organization (WHO), International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB), and World Health Assembly (WHA) aim at reducing avoidable visual impairment. Age-related macular degeneration (AMD), diabetic retinopathy (DR), and other retinal diseases are well known causes of visual disability. Since more than a decade, intravitreal agents are available for the treatment of these diseases. The aim of this study is to review whether pharmacotherapy with anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) drugs has led to a decrease in the prevalence of blindness with emphasis on AMD and different countries. A brief analysis of other factors correlated to changes in the rate of blindness is also presented. METHODS: PubMed and Scopus web platforms were used to identify relevant studies on epidemiology of blindness and vision impairment, the influence of intravitreal therapies, and the existence of different vision care models. Additional data and material was searched in web internet accessed by the web browser Firefox. RESULTS: Age-standardized prevalence of blindness secondary to AMD has started to decline as testified by a number of studies in different countries. This is due to the adoption of anti-VEGF therapy and its adequate management. The frequency of treatment and regimens applied are indirect signs of successful treatment. Local rules and regulations may represent an obstacle. CONCLUSIONS: This review shows that by implementing existing health care systems and dispensing adequate therapies in the field of retinal diseases, the prevalence of blindness due to these conditions can decline. [Image: see text] Springer Berlin Heidelberg 2021-10-20 2021 /pmc/articles/PMC8526354/ /pubmed/34669026 http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00417-021-05451-2 Text en © The Author(s) 2021, corrected publication 2022 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Open AccessThis article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) . |
spellingShingle | Mini Review Lanzetta, Paolo Anti-VEGF therapies for age-related macular degeneration: a powerful tactical gear or a blunt weapon? The choice is ours |
title | Anti-VEGF therapies for age-related macular degeneration: a powerful tactical gear or a blunt weapon? The choice is ours |
title_full | Anti-VEGF therapies for age-related macular degeneration: a powerful tactical gear or a blunt weapon? The choice is ours |
title_fullStr | Anti-VEGF therapies for age-related macular degeneration: a powerful tactical gear or a blunt weapon? The choice is ours |
title_full_unstemmed | Anti-VEGF therapies for age-related macular degeneration: a powerful tactical gear or a blunt weapon? The choice is ours |
title_short | Anti-VEGF therapies for age-related macular degeneration: a powerful tactical gear or a blunt weapon? The choice is ours |
title_sort | anti-vegf therapies for age-related macular degeneration: a powerful tactical gear or a blunt weapon? the choice is ours |
topic | Mini Review |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8526354/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34669026 http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00417-021-05451-2 |
work_keys_str_mv | AT lanzettapaolo antivegftherapiesforagerelatedmaculardegenerationapowerfultacticalgearorabluntweaponthechoiceisours |