Current Drug Targets - Volume 12, Issue 2, 2011

The Literature Search using as keyword “Age Related Macular Degeneration” (AMD) has identified more than 13,000 articles in Medline from 1960 to 2009. This apparently high number of articles, which surely does not account for the importance of the disease, became plethoric in the last decade, with more than two-thirds of totally published papers. AMD represents the leading cause of blindness in industrialized countries i Read More

In Western Countries, the occurrence of choroidal neovascularization (CNV) secondary to different forms of macular degeneration represents a common cause of blindness. Particularly, age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and pathologic myopia (PM) are the most frequent diseases related to CNV development. At present, the combined employment of drugs acting against vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEG Read More

Triamcinolone acetonide (TA) is one of the first pharmacologic compounds evaluated for the treatment of choroidal neovascularization (CNV) secondary to age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The most important effects of TA consist in the stabilisation of the blood-retinal barrier and the down-regulation of inflammation. TA also has antiangiogenic and anti-fibrotic properties. The peculiar characteristic of being well tol Read More

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of blindness among elderly patients in developed countries. Although the pathogenesis of AMD is still largely unknown, it is now well known that vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) plays a pivotal role in the growth of the abnormal blood vessels (i.e. choroidal neovascularization, CNV) which characterizes the “wet form” of this ocular disease. Therefore Read More

Background: Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a condition that accounts for 75% of cases of legal blindness in individuals over the age of 50. Objectives: The objective of this review has been to evaluate the clinical effectiveness of available combined treatments modalities in the treatment of neovascular AMD. Data Sources: Central and Medline were searched for original research studies (Phase I, II, III), abstracts Read More

Purpose: This review summarizes the data reported in peer-reviewed literature on the effects of submacular surgery for age-related macular degeneration (AMD) associated with choriodal neovascularization (CNV). Methods: A review of the MEDLINE database has been performed in order to examine the therapeutic effects of submacular surgical treatments in patients affected by AMD. Results: The multicenter studies cond Read More

Retinal angiomatous proliferation (RAP) is a distinct form of choroidal neovascularization which may complicate a wet age related macular degeneration (AMD). This exudative-AMD has a peculiar clinical history and prognosis. RAP accounts from 8% to 22% of newly diagnosed cases among patients previously diagnosed as exudative AMD, and up to 25% of the occult or minimally classic CNV. The disease is more prev Read More

Polypoidal Choroidal Vasculopathy (PCV) is a condition characterized by chronic, multiple, recurrent serous and/or hemorrhagic detachments of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) and neurosensory retina. Although it has been described to more often affect Asians and individuals of pigmented races, PCV may also be present in white patients who present with the clinical appearance of age related macular degeneration (AMD). Read More

Objective: To investigate the use of mixed treatment comparison (MTC) meta-analysis models to summarize results from randomized clinical trials (RCTs) on approved pharmacological treatments for neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Methods: The number of patients with visual loss or visual gain of 3 or more lines of visual acuity (15 ETDRS letters) at 1 year was extracted from 10 RCTs including patients wit Read More

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of central blindness or low vision among the elderly in industrialized countries. AMD is caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Among modifiable environmental risk factors, cigarette smoking has been associated with both the dry and wet forms of AMD and may increase the likelihood of worsening pre-existing AMD. Despite advances, t Read More

Vision loss secondary to Choroidal Neovascularization (CNV) is becoming a major disease condition in the developed world. CNV is typically secondary to Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) and these conditions are major, and also substantially increasing, causes of blindness among aged people. Several therapeutic options are currently available to treat CNV with variable efficacy on disease progress. Among Read More

Post-stroke cognitive impairment has a high prevalence in stroke patients and is associated with poor short and long term outcomes, including a negative impact on functional recovery. There is evidence that post-stroke impairment is the direct result of stroke induced neurological injury. Gray matter atrophy has been implicated in the development of post-stroke cognitive impairment and is the result of a series of neurochemic Read More

Sepsis is a common and frequently a fatal syndrome. Though, there is steady progress in the management of sepsis, further reduction of its mortality is still hampered by the lack of specific remedies. Recent advances in the understanding of the pathophysiology of sepsis and innovations in drug design have enabled researchers to develop new strategies for the treatment of this complicated condition in a more efficient w Read More

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is an emerging clinical problem with multifaceted issues: current and expected prevalence, significant morbidity, potentially fatal outcome (e.g., stroke) and gaps in therapeutic approaches. Current antiarrhythmic strategies not only fail to guarantee effective rhythm control, but also cause “on target” (i.e., pro-arrhythmia, namely torsade de pointes) and “off target” (i.e., extra-cardiac toxicities) side ef Read More