Lucentis®

Lucentis® is a new breakthrough treatment for patients with the wet form of macular degeneration. Lucentis is FDA approved and patients with wet macular degeneration may see their vision improve or maintain the vision they have.

Macular degeneration, often called AMD or ARMD (for age-related macular degeneration), is the leading cause of vision loss and blindness in Americans aged 65 and older. Because older people represent an increasingly larger percentage of the general population, vision loss associated with AMD is a growing problem.

Archives of Ophthalmology in 2004 estimated that 1.75 million U.S. residents now have significant symptoms associated with age-related macular degeneration, with that number expected to grow to almost 3 million by 2020.

AMD is a degenerative condition of the macula, which is the part of the retina responsible for the sharp, central vision needed to read or drive. Because AMD affects the macula, central vision loss may occur.

Macular degeneration is diagnosed as either dry (non-neovascular) or wet (neovascular). The dry form is more common than the wet, with about 85%-90% of AMD patients diagnosed with dry AMD. The wet form of the disease usually leads to more serious vision loss.