scholarly journals Mingjing granule, a traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of neovascular age-related macular degeneration: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Trials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yamin Li ◽  
Lina Liang ◽  
Torkel Snellingen ◽  
Kai Xu ◽  
Yun Gao ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) is the most common cause of irreversible vision loss and blindness among the older people aged 50 and over. Although anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) therapies have resulted in improving patient outcomes, there are limitations associated with these treatments. In China, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been used to treat eye diseases for more than 2000 years. Previous studies have shown that TCM may be beneficial for nAMD patients. However, explicit evidence has not been obtained. The purpose of the present trial is to examine the efficacy and safety of the Mingjing granule, a compound Chinese herbal medicine, for nAMD patients. Methods/design This is a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized trial of Mingjing granule as an add-on to intravitreous ranibizumab for nAMD. One hundred eighty nAMD patients from six hospitals in China will be enrolled according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria and randomly allocated into two groups, 90 in each. All participants will receive a 24-week treatment and then be followed up for another 24 weeks. The primary outcome is the mean change of best-corrected visual acuity at week 24 and 48 as compared to the baseline. The secondary outcomes include mean change in central retinal thickness, area of retinal hemorrhage and exudation, and TCM syndrome score, mean number of intravitreal ranibizumab injection, and total cost of the treatment. Indexes of safety include blood regular test, urine regular test, liver function test, renal function test, and electrocardiogram from baseline to weeks 24 and 48. Qualitative control and some standard operating processes will be formed throughout the trial. Any ocular or systemic adverse events will be treated suitably, and related data will be recorded accurately and completely in the case report form. Discussion Based on previous empirical and animal laboratory studies, this study will address the question of whether Mingjing granule could contribute to improving efficacy, safety, and efficiency with need for fewer intravitreal injections of anti-VEGF, improving compliance and visual outcomes in the management of persons with nAMD. Trial registration Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (http://www.chictr.org.cn), ChiCTR2000035990. Registered on 21 August 2020.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yamin Li ◽  
Lina Liang ◽  
Torkel Snellingen ◽  
Kai Xu ◽  
Yun Gao ◽  
...  

Abstract BackgroundNeovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) is the most common cause of irreversible vision loss and blindness among the elderly people aged 50 and over. Although anti-vascular endothelial growth factor(anti-VEGF) therapies have resulted in improving patient outcomes, there are limitations associated with these treatments. In China, Traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) has been used to treat eye diseases for more than 2000 years. Previous studies have shown that TCM may be beneficial for nAMD patients. However, explicit evidence has not been obtained. The purpose of the present trial is to examine the efficacy and safety of the Mingjing Granule, a compound Chinese herbal medicine, for nAMD patients. Methods/DesignThis is a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized trial of Mingjing Granule as an add-on to intravitreous ranibizumab for nAMD. 180 nAMD patients from six hospitals in China will be enrolled according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, and randomly allocated into two groups, 90 in each. All participants will receive a 24-week treatment and then be followed-up for another 24 weeks. The primary outcome is the mean change of best-corrected visual acuity at week 24 and 48 as compared to the baseline. The secondary outcomes include mean change in central retinal thickness, area of retinal hemorrhage and exudation, and TCM syndrome score, mean number of intravitreal ranibizumab injection and total cost of the treatment. Indexes of safety include blood regular test, urine regular test, liver function test, renal function test and electrocardiogram from baseline to week 24 and 48. Qualitative control and some standard operating processes will be formed throughout the trial. Any ocular or systemic adverse events will be treated suitably and related data will be recorded accurately and completely in the case report form.DiscussionBased on previous empirical and animal laboratory studies, this study will address the question of whether Mingjing Granule could contribute to improving efficacy, safety and efficiency with need for fewer intravitreal injections of anti-VEGF, improving compliance and visual outcomes in the management of persons with nAMD.Trial registrationChinese Clinical Trial Registry (http://www.chictr.org.cn), ChiCTR2000035990. Registered on 21 August 2020.


2021 ◽  
pp. bjophthalmol-2021-319054
Author(s):  
Brice Nguedia Vofo ◽  
Gala Beykin ◽  
Jaime Levy ◽  
Itay Chowers

AimsTo evaluate the long-term functional and anatomical outcomes of neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nvAMD) treated with intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) for up to 10 years, and to identify associated risk factors.MethodsClinical and optical coherence tomography findings were retrieved for nvAMD cases treated with intravitreal anti-VEGF compounds using a treat-and-extend protocol. In addition, the major risk alleles for AMD in the CFH (rs1061170), HTRA1 (rs1200638) and C3 (rs2230199) genes were genotyped.ResultsFrom 276 eligible eyes in 206 patients, 80 eyes (29%) in 66 patients (32.0%) had a follow-up period of ≥8 years and were included in this study. Over a 10-year period, 73.3±28.0 (mean±SD) anti-VEGF injections were administered. Best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA; LogMAR) deteriorated from 0.55±0.53 at baseline to 1.00±0.73 at 10 years (p<0.0005). Central subfield thickness (CST) decreased from 415.8±162.1 µm at baseline to 323±113.6 µm (p<0.0005) after three monthly injections and remained lower than baseline throughout the follow-up period. Visual outcome was associated with BCVA and intraretinal fluid (IRF) at baseline, macular atrophy, and macular thinning at follow-up. The decrease in CST was inversely correlated with the number of CFH and/or C3 risk alleles carried by the patient (Pearson’s r: −0.608; p=0.003).ConclusionsPatients with nvAMD who received anti-VEGF therapy for 10 years developed substantial vision loss associated with the presence of IRF at baseline and macular atrophy. Major risk alleles for AMD in two complement genes were associated with a reduced long-term reduction in macular thickness.


2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. e000398 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saira Khanna ◽  
Rahul Komati ◽  
David A Eichenbaum ◽  
Ishani Hariprasad ◽  
Thomas A Ciulla ◽  
...  

Age-related macular degeneration is the leading cause of vision loss in the developed world, with the expected number of affected elderly individuals reaching 17.8 million. Antivascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) injection therapy has been instrumental in treating a disease process that was previously thought to be untreatable. Over the past two decades, landmark studies have demonstrated the efficacy of different anti-VEGF medications and investigated the optimal dosing regimen and delivery mechanism to increase overall vision and minimise patient burden. In this review, we outline landmark neovascular age-related macular degeneration clinical trials that have demonstrated level 1 evidence for its usage or have contributed to the understanding of how to dose these agents.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sam Razavi ◽  
Laurent Kodjikian ◽  
Audrey Giocanti-Aurégan ◽  
Ingrid Dufour ◽  
Eric Souied

Abstract Background Anti–vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) agents have become the standard of care in neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD). Despite generally excellent response rates to anti-VEGF therapy, some patients do not respond or may respond suboptimally. In the case of refractory or rapidly recurring fluid in nAMD, clinicians may switch to another anti-VEGF agent. TITAN was an observational study that assessed the effectiveness and safety of intravitreal aflibercept (IVT-AFL) in patients with nAMD refractory to ranibizumab who switched to IVT-AFL after less than 12 months of ranibizumab treatment in routine clinical practice in France. Methods TITAN was an observational, retrospective and prospective 12-month study conducted at 28 centres in France. Patients with nAMD refractory to ranibizumab were enrolled. Patients who were switched from ranibizumab to IVT-AFL were followed for 12 months. Data were obtained from medical records for retrospectively included patients, and at routine follow-up visits for those included prospectively. The main outcome measure was percentage of patients who achieved treatment success (gain of ≥1 Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study letters in best-corrected visual acuity [BCVA] and/or any reduction in central retinal thickness [CRT]) from baseline to 12 months after switching. A sample size of 225 patients was determined based on a 2-sided 95% confidence interval with a width equal to 0.12 when the sample proportion was 0.70. Results We analysed safety data (N = 217) and clinical outcomes from patients in the per-protocol population (n = 125). The mean (standard deviation) number of IVT-AFL injections was 7.5 (2.6). Treatment success was achieved in 68.8% of patients. Mean BCVA change from baseline to Month 12 was + 1.5 letters (P = 0.105) and the mean CRT change was − 45.0 μm (P <  0.001). In a subgroup analysis, in patients who received three initial monthly IVT-AFL injections, mean BCVA gain was 3.3 letters at Month 12 (P = 0.015). Excluding lack of efficacy and inappropriate scheduling of drug administration, the most common adverse event was eye pain (2.3%). Conclusions Switching ranibizumab-refractory patients with nAMD to IVT-AFL may improve visual outcomes in some patients, particularly those who receive three initial monthly injections. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02321241. First posted: December 22, 2014; Last update posted: July 2, 2018


2022 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kaushal Sharma ◽  
Priya Battu ◽  
Ramandeep Singh ◽  
Suresh Kumar Sharma ◽  
Akshay Anand

AbstractAge-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a devastating retinal disease that results in irreversible vision loss in the aged population. The complex genetic nature and degree of genetic penetrance require a redefinition of the current therapeutic strategy for AMD. We aimed to investigate the role of modifiers for current anti-VEGF therapy especially for non-responder AMD patients. We recruited 78 wet AMD cases (out of 278 AMD patients) with their socio-demographic and treatment regimen. Serum protein levels were estimated by ELISA in AMD patients. Data pertaining to the number of anti-VEGF injections given (in 1 year) along with clinical images (FFA and OCT) of AMD patients were also included. Visual acuity data (logMAR) for 46 wet AMD cases out of a total of 78 patients were also retrieved to examine the response of anti-VEGF injections in wet AMD cases. Lipid metabolizing genes (LIPC and APOE) have been identified as chief biomarkers for anti-VEGF response in AMD patients. Both genotypes ‘CC’ and ‘GC’ of LIPC have found to be associated with a number of anti-VEGF injections in AMD patients which could influence the expression of B3GALTL,HTRA1, IER3, LIPC and SLC16A8 proteins in patients bearing both genotypes as compared to reference genotype. Elevated levels of APOE were also observed in group 2 wet AMD patients as compared to group 1 suggesting the significance of APOE levels in anti-VEGF response. The genotype of B3GALTL has also been shown to have a significant association with the number of anti-VEGF injections. Moreover, visual acuity of group 1 (≤ 4 anti-VEGF injections/year) AMD patients was found significantly improved after 3 doses of anti-VEGF injections and maintained longitudinally as compared to groups 2 and 3. Lipid metabolising genes may impact the outcome of anti-VEGF AMD treatment.


2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 222-227
Author(s):  
M. V. Budzinskaya ◽  
A. A. Plyukhova

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a chronic disease of the central retina and one of the main causes of blindness in patients over 60 years of age in industrialized countries. Currently, anti-vascular endothelial growth factor therapy (anti-VEGF therapy) has become the standard of neovascular AMD treatment, leading to the prevention of progressive vision loss in more than 90 % of treated patients during a two-year follow-up period. In the modern world there are transition from quantitative assessment of “fluid” according to optical coherence tomography (OCT) — the thickness of the central retinal zone, to qualitative — the presence of IRF, SRF, fluid under RPE. The data obtained by Zinkernagel have shown that, despite good functional results (an increase in visual acuity), the administration of the drug once every 2 months leads not only to fluctuations in IRF and SRF, but also to serous PED [4]. The existing qualitative and quantitative analysis is not perfect. Fluctuation is a new qualitative marker of the study of disease activity, it is defined as the sum of all types of fluid (IRF + SRF + fluid under RPE) in a certain time interval (with monthly measurement of the indicator). The fluctuation index was determined from the cumulative change in the thickness of the retina in the fovea over time [6]. Thus, the fluid is considered as a key morphological criterion for the activity of nVMD and an indication for (initiation or continuation) of antiangiogenic therapy. At the same time, there is evidence that a lower level of each type of fluid (IRF, SRF, fluid under RPE) is associated with better BCVA results against the background of anti-VEGF therapy [17]. The stability of retinal thickness during anti-VEGF therapy is no less important parameter than the statement of fluid resolution at a certain time, and it appears that better control of the central retinal thickness was associated with higher overall NEI VFQ-25 scores and individual scales reflecting important daily activities of the patient [16]. 


Genes ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 1318
Author(s):  
Jussi J. Paterno ◽  
Ali Koskela ◽  
Juha M.T. Hyttinen ◽  
Elina Vattulainen ◽  
Ewelina Synowiec ◽  
...  

Age-related macular degeneration is an eye disease that is the main cause of legal blindness in the elderly in developed countries. Despite this, its pathogenesis is not completely known, and many genetic, epigenetic, environmental and lifestyle factors may be involved. Vision loss in age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is usually consequence of the occurrence of its wet (neovascular) form that is targeted in the clinic by anti-VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor) treatment. The wet form of AMD is associated with the accumulation of cellular waste in the retinal pigment epithelium, which is removed by autophagy and the proteosomal degradation system. In the present work, we searched for the association between genotypes and alleles of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of autophagy-related genes and wet AMD occurrence in a cohort of Finnish patients undergoing anti-VEGF therapy and controls. Additionally, the correlation between treatment efficacy and genotypes was investigated. Overall, 225 wet AMD patients and 161 controls were enrolled in this study. Ten SNPs (rs2295080, rs11121704, rs1057079, rs1064261, rs573775, rs11246867, rs3088051, rs10902469, rs73105013, rs10277) in the mTOR (Mechanistic Target of Rapamycin), ATG5 (Autophagy Related 5), ULK1 (Unc-51-Like Autophagy Activating Kinase 1), MAP1LC3A (Microtubule Associated Protein 1 Light Chain 3 α), SQSTM1 (Sequestosome 1) were analyzed with RT-PCR-based genotyping. The genotype/alleles rs2295080-G, rs11121704-C, rs1057079-C and rs73105013-T associated with an increased, whereas rs2295080-TT, rs2295080-T, rs11121704-TT, rs1057079-TT, rs1057079-T, rs573775-AA and rs73105013-C with a decreased occurrence of wet AMD. In addition, the rs2295080-GG, rs2295080-GT, rs1057079-TT, rs11246867-AG, rs3088051-CC and rs10277-CC genotypes were a positively correlated cumulative number of anti-VEGF injections in 2 years. Therefore, variability in autophagy genes may have an impact on the risk of wet AMD occurrence and the efficacy of anti-VEGF treatment.


Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a chronic and degenerative disease that causes vision loss. Although anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (Anti-VEGF) drugs are the mainstay of treatment in cases of age-related AMD, there is no similar response to treatment in each patient. In the case of non-response, the treatment approach for the cause must be regulated. Although there is no consensus on the concept of response to treatment, the use of alternative anti-VEGF in cases where drug efficacy is weak is quite common.


2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 102-112
Author(s):  
I. E. Ioshin ◽  
T. Anoprieva

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a chronic progressive disease regarded as a leading cause of vision impairment in elderly people in industrial countries. Neovascular AMD is characterized by an increased risk of severe vision loss. Intravitreal injections of anti-VEGF medication has become a standard of treatment of neovascular AMD. Clinical trials demonstrate that the use of anti-VEGF helps stabilize the vision in at least 90 % of patients, while 30 to 40 % gain three or more lines of vision (15 ETDRS letters). However, observational studies suggest that there are barriers diminishing the efficacy of anti-VEGF treatment in routine clinical practice. Finding an optimal dosing regimen for anti-VEGF therapy that could maintain treatment efficacy with a lower number of injections and fewer monitoring visits could be a solution. The review discusses the evidence base regarding anti-VEGF dosing principles and analyzes current dosing regimens with regard to their benefits and limitations.


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