" Five years ago, we had no viable treatment for macular degeneration. But today, with photodynamic therapy, we have the first generation of treatments approved by the FDA," says retina specialist Robert Bhisitkul, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology. "With the next generation of treatments, we'll be able to do even more to help preserve patients' vision."

Dr. Robert Bhisitkul

UCSF is actively involved in finding new treatment approaches to macular degeneration, the most common cause of blindness among elderly Americans.

Anti-VEGF Drug Trials

A new class of drugs, anti-VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor) compounds, could slow the development of abnormal blood vessel growth associated with wet (exudative) macular degeneration, and macular edema caused by diabetic retinopathy.

Clinical trials for the anti-VEGF drug, rhuFabV2 (Lucentis), which might benefit patients with wet macular degeneration, are now underway at UCSF as part of a multicenter trial. Another anti-VEGF drug, Macugen, has just had positive results announced, and an application for FDA approval is pending.

"Clinical trials are where you make the final decision on whether a drug is beneficial," says Dr. Bhisitkul. "Because we have a broad range of patients and experience in conducting these studies, we are in a good position to participate in these important trials."

Researchers at UCSF are investigating other novel approaches to macular degeneration. Dr. Bhisitkul and UCSF Ophthalmology resident Dr. Janie Ho are conducting basic science studies of a new class of drugs using RNA interference to combat recently recognized growth factors. Early results are promising.