Neovascularization and Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) for Age-Related Macular Degeneration

In many middle-aged and elderly eyes, distortion of vision, loss of visual acuity and darkness in the center of the visual field occur. This is an eye disease that is a consequence of choroidal neovascularization caused by age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Choroidal neovascularization is most commonly seen in age-related macular degeneration, also known as age-related macular degeneration (AMD), which is an aging change in the structure of the macular region. The exact etiology is unknown and may be related to genetics, vascular sclerosis, oxidative damage, chronic photodamage, inflammation, and metabolic nutrition. The neovascularization caused by this disease is very fragile and prone to hemorrhage and fluid leakage, and these hemorrhages and fluid leaks lead to edematous bulging of the macula, and destruction of the macula soon occurs. As wet age-related macular degeneration progresses, central vision is rapidly lost. The disease mostly occurs over 45 years of age, and its prevalence increases with age, making it an important disease of blindness in the elderly today. Currently, the best method recognized for international injuries is photodynamic therapy (PDT): a specific photosensitizer is injected into the patient’s bloodstream, and when the drug circulates to the retina, a 689 nm laser is used to excite the photosensitizer, thus destroying the abnormal neovascularization, and the treatment does not damage the normal retinal tissue. It causes the neovascularization to embolize and atrophy, and stops bleeding and exudation. So it is used to treat age-related macular degeneration. Choroidal neovascularization caused by pathological myopia, central exudative chorioretinopathy, etc. can also be treated with this treatment, and timely treatment is very important to prevent the progression of the lesion.