Retinal degenerative diseases--mechanisms and perspectives of treatment.

Retinal degenerative diseases are an extensive group of ocular diseases, leading to vision disorders and finally irreversible vision loss. They are an significant problem, because degenerative processes exist in common ocular disorders like glaucoma or age-related macular degeneration and many other less frequently occurring disorders. In this article, we present mechanisms leading to retinal degeneration like excitotoxicity, oxidative stress, inflammation and summarize the latest reports concerning neuroprotection in the treatment of retina degenerative diseases.

[New drug VEGF Trap-Eye--Eylea--and its use in the treatment of age-related macular degeneration, central retinal vein occlusion, diabetic macular edema, and choroidal neovascularization secondary to pathologic myopia]. / Nowy lek VEGF Trap-Eye--Eylea--i jego wykorzystanie w leczeniu zwyrodnienia plamki zwiazanego z wiekiem, zakrzepu zyly srodkowej siatkówki, cukrzycowego obrzeku plamki oraz neowaskularyzacji w przebiegu krótkowrocznosci.

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) plays an important role in the pathogenesis of choroidal and retinal neovascularization. Anti-VEGF therapy changed the standard-of-care for ocular disease with neovascularisation. This article presents one promising new drug--VEGF Trap-Eye--and results of clinical trials evaluating its efficacy in the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration, central retinal vain occlusion, diabetic macular edema and choroidal neovascularization secondary to pathologic myopia.