Background Ranibizumab — a recombinant, humanized, monoclonal antibody Fab that neutralizes all active forms of vascular endothelial growth factor A — has been evaluated for the treatment of neovascular age-related macular degeneration. Methods In this multicenter, 2-year, double-blind, sham-controlled study, we randomly assigned patients with age-related macular degeneration with either minimally classic or occult (with no classic lesions) choroidal neovascularization to receive 24 monthly intravitreal injections of ranibizumab (either 0.3 mg or 0.5 mg) or sham injections. The primary end point was the proportion of patients losing fewer than 15 letters from baseline visual acuity at 12 months. Results We enrolled 716 patients in the study. At 12 months, 94.5% of the group given 0.3 mg of ranibizumab and 94.6% of those given 0.5 mg lost fewer than 15 letters, as compared with 62.2% of patients receiving sham injections (P<0.001 for both comparisons). Visual acuity improved by 15 or more letters in 24.8% of the 0.3-mg group and 33.8% of the 0.5-mg group, as compared with 5.0% of the sham-injection group (P<0.001 for both doses). Mean increases in visual acuity were 6.5 letters in the 0.3-mg group and 7.2 letters in the 0.5-mg group, as compared with a decrease of 10.4 letters in the sham-injection group (P<0.001 for both comparisons). The benefit in visual acuity was maintained at 24 months. During 24 months, presumed endophthalmitis was identified in five patients (1.0%) and serious uveitis in six patients (1.3%) given ranibizumab. Conclusions Intravitreal administration of ranibizumab for 2 years prevented vision loss and improved mean visual acuity, with low rates of serious adverse events, in patients with minimally classic or occult (with no classic lesions) choroidal neovascularization secondary to age-related macular degeneration. (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00056836.)

/pdf/ranibizumab-for-neovascular-age-related-macular-degeneration-3277jvstyt.pdf

Ranibizumab for Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a major cause of blindness in the elderly. We report a genome-wide screen of 96 cases and 50 controls for polymorphisms associated with AMD. Among 116,204 single-nucleotide polymorphisms genotyped, an intronic and common variant in the complement factor H gene ( CFH ) is strongly associated with AMD (nominal P value -7 ). In individuals homozygous for the risk allele, the likelihood of AMD is increased by a factor of 7.4 (95% confidence interval 2.9 to 19). Resequencing revealed a polymorphism in linkage disequilibrium with the risk allele representing a tyrosine-histidine change at amino acid 402. This polymorphism is in a region of CFH that binds heparin and C-reactive protein. The CFH gene is located on chromosome 1 in a region repeatedly linked to AMD in family-based studies.

/pdf/complement-factor-h-polymorphism-in-age-related-macular-1je6ex4sfb.pdf

Complement Factor H Polymorphism in Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Of the 423 patients enrolled, 94.3% of those given 0.3 mg of ranibizumab and 96.4% of those given 0.5 mg lost fewer than 15 letters, as compared with 64.3% of those in the verteporfin group (P<0.001 for each comparison). Visual acuity improved by 15 letters or more in 35.7% of the 0.3-mg group and 40.3% of the 0.5-mg group, as compared with 5.6% of the verteporfin group (P<0.001 for each comparison). Mean visual acuity increased by 8.5 letters in the 0.3-mg group and 11.3 letters in the 0.5-mg group, as compared with a decrease of 9.5 letters in the verteporfin group (P<0.001 for each comparison). Among 140 patients treated with 0.5 mg of ranibizumab, presumed endophthalmitis occurred in 2 patients (1.4%) and serious uveitis in 1 (0.7%). Conclusions Ranibizumab was superior to verteporfin as intravitreal treatment of predominantly classic neovascular age-related macular degeneration, with low rates of serious ocular adverse events. Treatment improved visual acuity on average at 1 year. (ClinicalTrials. gov number, NCT00061594.)

/pdf/ranibizumab-versus-verteporfin-for-neovascular-age-related-zw3ei204oa.pdf

Ranibizumab versus Verteporfin for Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration

https://www.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/langlo/PIIS2214-109X(13)70145-1.pdf

Global prevalence of age-related macular degeneration and disease burden projection for 2020 and 2040: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

The cloning of genes encoding mammalian DNA binding transcription factors for RNA polymerase II has provided the opportunity to analyze the structure and function of these proteins. This review summarizes recent studies that define structural domains for DNA binding and transcriptional activation functions in sequence-specific transcription factors. The mechanisms by which these factors may activate transcriptional initiation and by which they may be regulated to achieve differential gene expression are also discussed.

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/245/4916/371.full.pdf

Transcriptional regulation in mammalian cells by sequence-specific DNA binding proteins

Die altersabhangige Makuladegeneration (AMD) ist in den Industriestaaten der Hauptgrund irreversibler Erblindung bei Menschen uber 60 Jahren [1]. Schatzungsweise etwa 30% der Erwachsenen uber 75 Jahren weisen Zeichen einer AMD auf, von denen etwa 10% ein fortgeschrittenes oder spates Stadium der Erkrankung zeigen [2]. Die grose Mehrheit der AMD-Patienten haben die nicht-exsudative oder trockene Form der Erkrankung, charakterisiert durch eine Konstellation bestimmter klinischer Zeichen, einschlieslich Drusen, Pigmentanomalien (fokale Hyperoder Hypopigmentierungen des retinalen Pigmentepithels (RPE)) und geographischer Atrophie (GA) der Makula. Wie in der Age-Related Eye Disease Studie (AREDS) definiert, kann der Schweregrad der AMD in drei Kategorien eingeteilt werden: fruh, intermediar und fortgeschritten.

Behandlungsansätze bei trockener AMD

Reply to Comment on: Conbercept for Treatment of Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration: Results of the Randomized Phase 3 PHOENIX Study.

To the Editor: Halton and colleagues (Nov. 9 issue) 1 report that low-carbohydrate diets are not associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease in women. We pooled data from our own studies 2-4 evaluating the effect of lifestyle changes (Mediterranean-style diet and exercise) on body weight, lipid levels, and vascular inflammatory markers in 190 overweight women who were followed for up to 2 years. The women were advised to increase their consumption of fruits, vegetables, nuts, whole grains, and olive oil. The 115 women who had a dietary intake of carbohydrate that exceeded 50% of energy were compared with the 75 who had a carbohydrate intake equal to or below 50%. The mean (±SD) values for the macronutrient composition of the diets in the two groups were as follows: high-carbohydrate intake

Philip J. Rosenfeld

Papers

Behandlungsansätze bei trockener AMD

Reply to Comment on: Conbercept for Treatment of Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration: Results of the Randomized Phase 3 PHOENIX Study.

Low-Carbohydrate Diet and Coronary Heart Disease in Women