Laser

Aspirin and AMD

Dutch researchers, led by Dr. Paulus de Jong, conducted a study to see if aspirin exacerbates macular degeneration. Of the 839 people who took aspirin daily, approximately four out of every 100 had wet AMD. In comparison, about two out of every 100 people who took aspirin less frequently had the same type of AMD. Aspirin was not tied to the dry form.

Since aspirin is taken to prevent heart disease that condition might influence the results. For people with heart disease, the benefits of the drug outweigh the risk.

 

Laser Photocoagulation

Submitted by Vishnu on Tue, 2010-09-07 16:00

Laser photocoagulation is a treatment most often used for diabetic retinopathy that uses a laser to seal leaking blood vessels. During later stages of diabetic retinopathy, abnormal blood vessels grow in response to damage within the retina. These new capillaries are weak and will often break, leak, or burst. When this happens, sudden and severe vision loss can occur.

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Reference to Disease: 
Diabetic Retinopathy

Photodynamic Therapy (PDT)

Submitted by Vishnu on Tue, 2010-09-07 15:55

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a treatment used to destroy broken or newly forming abnormal blood vessels associated with wet AMD. It uses a drug called verteporfin that is activated by a bright laser light. Verteporfin is injected into the arm and travels throughout the body. It tends to stick to and accumulate in new blood vessels. After enough time has elapsed to allow the drug to travel to the vessels of the eye, a laser light is shined directly into it. The intense light from the laser activates the drug, which destroys the abnormal blood vessels without harming the surrounding tissue.

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Reference to Disease: 
AMD- Wet
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