Treating Wet Age-related
Macular Degeneration

Eye illustration
The macula is in the middle of the retina, at the back of the eye.  It is the part of the eye that gives us our central vision.  Diseases of the macula can cause a loss in central vision.  This can make it difficult to, for example, read, drive or watch TV.
Image courtesy of the National Eye Institute.
 

Example of how a clock looks witouth AMD
Normal vision

Example of how a clock looks with AMD
How the same clock would look to a
person with wet AMD.

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a disease that destroys central vision. Central vision is needed to see things clearly as for common activities such as reading, writing, or driving. AMD affects the macula, the part of the eye that provides the fine detail of things you see. With dry AMD, the visual changes tend to happen gradually. With wet AMD, however, the central vision can be lost very quickly. About 10 percent of patients with AMD have the wet type.

Wet AMD happens when the blood vessels behind the retina of the eye start to grow under the macula. These new blood vessels tend to be very fragile and often leak blood and fluid. The bleeding, leaking, and scarring from these blood vessels will eventually cause irreversible damage rapid vision loss if not treated.

A classic symptom of wet AMD is when straight lines look wavy or crooked. A small blind spot might also appear, which causes the loss of one’s central vision.

The greatest risk factor is age. Although AMD may occur during middle age, it typically develops in the elderly. Other risk factors include smoking, obesity, high blood pressure, family history and having a specific gene for the disease.

Therapy Support & Medications

One treatment for wet AMD is laser surgery. While ths therapy may stop disease progression, only a small percentage of patients are candidates for this therapy.

Another treatment, photodynamic therapy, uses a light to activate a drug which the doctor injects into your arm.  By shining a light at your retina, medication that has reached the abnormal arteries there will damage those arteries, improving your vision in some cases.

Medications that inhibit the growth of the abnormal blood cells in the retina causing vision to stabilize and possibly improve are:

Since wet AMD is a chronic disease and there is no cure, ongoing, regular treatment is needed.

Your Partner in Therapeutic Success

CoramRx maximizes compliance, minimizes complications and helps patients achieve therapeutic success in the most cost-efficient and clinically effective way possible. One week prior to each prescription dispense, you will receive a refill reminder phone call. To help ensure success with your wet AMD therapy, your pharmacy department team member will ask a series of clinical monitoring questions related to: Compliance to prescribed therapy, drug side effects, hospitalization, change in medication profile, disease status and effectiveness of prescribed therapy.

Patient Resources

The organizations listed below offer a variety of services and resources for consumers and caregivers. Please note that some organizations may charge a fee for access to services. This listing is not an endorsement of these organizations, or information they may provide. We strongly suggest you discuss any information you receive from these organizations with a qualified professional before making any changes in your healthcare, insurance coverage or home care provider.

Learn More

  • To learn more about your options with our Wet AMD program and CoramRx,
    please contact us.
  • To enroll as a Wet AMD patient with CoramRx, please complete our
    Patient Enrollment Form    .