I Understand That New Medicines Are Available To Treat Wet Macular Degeneration. Will These Medicines Also Help My Dry Macular Degeneration?
Anti-VEGF agents, such as Lucentis (ranibizumab) or Avastin (bevacizumab), address the new blood vessel growth associated with wet macular degeneration. They also help eliminate the fluid leakage that occurs in association with the new vessel growth. Both of these effects are important in the treatment of wet macular degeneration.
Unfortunately, they do not impact dry macular degeneration. The degeneration, or breakdown, of the retina associated with dry macular degeneration, appears to be driven by other factors. These factors are being heavily studied in labs and clinical trials.