Last February, we published a blog post on Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) discussing this progressive disease that causes vision loss in the central field of vision. We mentioned that for the two types of AMD, wet and dry, there was only a pharmaceutical treatment option for the wet type.

Well, we have good news to report! A few months after that post appeared, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a new drug treatment — Syfovre™ — for late-stage dry AMD known as geographic atrophy.

According to the American Macular Degeneration Foundation, dry AMD affects between 80-90% of patients. The other 10-20% of sufferers have what’s known as wet AMD or neovascular. Leaky blood vessels in wet AMD can quickly cause central vision loss, but regular injections of anti-VEGF drugs into the eye can halt it.

And now for the first time, we have an option for the dry variety, specifically for those whose condition has developed into the advanced stage of the disease. Geographic atrophy manifests with lesions that progressively enlarge and ultimately create areas of vision loss in the central field. Syfovre™ offers an opportunity to halt the rate of progression for geographic atrophy patients. As with wet AMD treatment, Syfovre™ is routinely injected into the eye.

Please contact either Dr. Cheryl or Dr. Dave to talk about this new treatment option if you’ve been diagnosed with dry, late-stage AMD.