Treatment Options
What treatments are available for AMD?
Many national eye centers, including The Cleveland Clinic Cole Eye Institute, are investigating new medications and other ways to treat AMD. Although there currently is no medical or surgical treatment for the dry form of AMD, eyesight may be helped with low-vision aids that use special lenses or electronic systems to produce enlarged images of nearby objects. Patients also can be trained to use their peripheral (side) vision to help them see more clearly. One recent study found that taking high levels of antioxidants can reduce some patients' chances of developing AMD. Ask your eye doctor if this type of therapy is right for you.

Because the dry form of AMD can change into the wet form, it is very important for patients to monitor their eyesight carefully and see their ophthalmologist on a regular basis.

For patients with the wet form of AMD, early diagnosis and treatment are critical to save as much vision as possible. Early diagnosis can help expand treatment options and increase the likelihood of preserving eyesight.

Several options are available to treat the wet form of AMD, but not all are appropriate or successful for all patients. These treatments include:

• Photodynamic therapy - combining the use of a cold laser with a light-sensitive drug to destroy abnormal blood vessels. The drug is injected into the arm and travels to the unwanted vessels in the eye. This helps avoid damage to healthy retinal tissue.
• Laser therapy - the use of high-energy lights to destroy actively growing abnormal blood vessels.
• Anti-angiogenesis medications. There are several drugs that prevent the growth of abnormal blood vessels currently being used to slow or improve loss of vision.
• Surgery to remove abnormal blood vessels and blood. The surgeon may use a genetically engineered enzyme called tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) to dissolve any blood clots under the macula, in a procedure pioneered and developed by Hilel Lewis, M.D., Cole Eye Institute Chairman.

The Cole Eye Institute is also testing several experimental treatments for AMD for patients who qualify for these studies:

• Macular translocation - This new procedure may be performed if there are abnormal blood vessels directly under the center of the macula, where a laser beam cannot be placed safely. Here, the surgeon rotates the retina away from the abnormal blood vessels to an area that is healthy, thus preventing the formation of scar tissue and further damage to the retina. Then, laser therapy is used to treat the abnormal blood vessels.

Click here to make an appointment now. Or call 216/444-2020 or 1/800-223-2273 Ext. 42020 to schedule an appointment with a Cole Eye Institute ophthalmologist.