How Is Macular Degeneration Treated?

Lucentis is an FDA-approved treatment for wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD). LUCENTIS is an injection given into the eye. Before you get your LUCENTIS injection, your eye will be prepped — or cleaned thoroughly — to help you avoid eye infections. Then Roger J. Meyer, MD will numb your eye to limit any discomfort you might feel. Many people who get injections for wet AMD feel some pressure on their eye. Most of the time this pressure is all you will feel. After your retina specialist gives you the injection, the pressure should go away.

What could LUCENTIS mean for you?
You may be able to improve or maintain your vision—and keep doing the simple things you enjoy. Remember, wet AMD is a chronic condition and there is no cure. But it can be managed with regular treatment with LUCENTIS.

Who is LUCENTIS for?
LUCENTIS® (ranibizumab injection) is a prescription medicine for the treatment of patients with wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

What important safety information should I know about LUCENTIS?

Like any prescription medication, LUCENTIS is not for everyone. You should not use LUCENTIS if you have an infection in or around the eye. Like other injections given into the eye, serious eye infection (endophthalmitis) and detached retina have occurred with LUCENTIS. Increases in eye pressure have been seen within 1 hour of an injection. Your eye doctor should monitor your eye pressure and eye health during the week after the injection. If your eye becomes red, sensitive to light, painful, or has a change in vision, you should seek immediate care from your eye doctor. Although uncommon, conditions associated with eye- and non-eye-related blood clots (arterial thromboembolic events) may occur.

Serious side effects related to the injection procedure were rare. These included serious eye infection, detached retina, and cataract. Other uncommon serious side effects included inflammation inside the eye and increased eye pressure.

The most common eye-related side effects were red eye, eye pain, small specks in vision, the feeling that something is in your eye, and increased tears. The most common non-eye-related side effects were nose and throat infection, headache, and respiratory and urinary tract infections. LUCENTIS is for prescription use only. Individual results with LUCENTIS may vary. More information is available at www.lucentis.com.

Avastin is the full-length antibody from which Lucentis is derived. It has many of the same properties and effects as Lucentis. Although it has not undergone rigorous clinical trials to prove its safety and efficacy, it has been used “off-label” to treat wet macular degeneration and numerous other conditions such as vein occlusions, diabetic retinopathy, neovascular glaucoma, and others. Medicare has approved payment for its use in wet macular degeneration, and its cost is significantly less than that of Lucentis.

Laser photocoagulation is an outpatient surgical procedure where laser energy is applied to the retina to seal leaking blood vessels and reduce the growth of these blood vessels. This procedure has been shown to slow the progression of central vision loss in patients with AMD.