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Saved from blindness by a jab in the eye: New drug offers hope to Britons facing gradual sight loss in old age and halved the injections needed

  • Nearly 500,000 Britons have age-related macular degeneration (AMD)
  • New drug available on the NHS could save thousands from blindness
  • Drug Eyela is injected in the eye and reverts the process

By
Roz Lewis


PUBLISHED:

17:00 EST, 28 December 2013

|
UPDATED:

17:00 EST, 28 December 2013

Seeing clear: Linda Newton from Bradford has been helped by the Eyela jab

The condition is painless and its onset insidious. Indeed, many of the 500,000 Britons with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) might not have noticed it for some time – simply needing a brighter light to read by, colours seeming less vibrant and faces harder to recognise.

But for one in ten the problem can worsen suddenly and, without swift intervention, permanent sight loss occurs.

Now sufferers have been thrown a lifeline. A new injectable drug has become available on the NHS which may help those who haven’t responded to the current treatment regime. It  also promises to halve the number of jabs required.

The macula is the centre part of the retina (the photographic film at the back of the eye), which changes the light focused on to it into electrical messages to the brain to give us high-definition colour vision.

There are two types of AMD: dry, which is where the cells of the macula die off very gradually, about which nothing can currently be done, and wet, which is where abnormal blood vessels leak fluid into the macula. If left unchecked, it is this leaking process that can lead to sudden blindness.

The causes of AMD remain unknown. If people have dry macular degeneration, ten to 15 per cent will go on to have wet AMD. Other risk factors are smoking and having a family member who has had it.

The new drug, Eylea, which was approved for NHS use this year, is an anti-VEGF drug that works by blocking the production of a substance called vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in the cells in the eye.

Eylea also contains a substance called anti-PIGF (placental growth factor), which appears to further delay the leakage from abnormal blood vessels compared with the other drugs used for the condition – Lucentis and Avastin.

Linda Newton’s right eye has improved significantly since she began treatment with Eylea last year.

‘I was diagnosed with wet AMD when  I was 59, which was a horrible shock,’ says Linda, a retired teacher and bookkeeper from Bradford.

‘I’ve worn glasses throughout my life and noticed that the vision in the right eye was getting blurry. I went to my GP, who referred me to an ophthalmologist.

‘When I was told I could lose my sight, I was devastated. At that stage I was told I needed immediate injections  of Lucentis to prevent my vision deteriorating further.’

New drug: Eylea, which was approved for NHS use this year, is an anti-VEGF drug that works by blocking the production of a substance called vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in the cells in the eye

Any drug for wet AMD is administered by injection directly into the eyeball. The eye is first anaesthetised with drops, before a very fine needle injects the drug into the central part of the eye, which is filled with a viscous thick clear liquid, the vitreous humour.

Treatment is painless, and takes minutes. Patients then administer antibiotic eye drops for a few more days after the injection to reduce the risk of infection.

‘It was daunting at first to have the Lucentis treatment but I soon got used  to it,’ explains Linda, 66. ‘The treatment helped so I continued with it for ten injections, which my medical insurance covered. My husband and I had to find the money for another three monthly shots privately [£1,700 per injection] before, fortunately, the NHS funding was approved for the rest of my care.’

Linda went on having the injections at roughly four to six-week intervals until May this year, when her consultant  suggested Eylea.

‘I had my first injection of Eylea in  May, then two more at monthly intervals,’ says Linda. ‘As the back of my right eye remained dry, injection times have been extended from first six weeks, then eight weeks, then ten weeks.

‘I’m due to have my next jab in February, when it will be 12 weeks between injections. Although I don’t mind injections, it is great that I don’t have to go as often for treatment.’

Helen Devonport, consultant in ophthalmology at Bradford Royal Infirmary, says: ‘With Lucentis treatments, patients have to come in to clinic every four weeks. With Eylea, if we only have to see patients and treat them every eight weeks, then that should reduce pressure on clinics significantly, and save on time costings as well as the price of the actual drugs used. So it should be beneficial in a wider capacity to the NHS.’

Peter Simcock, consultant eye surgeon from the Royal Devon and Exeter Foundation Trust, who is pioneering the training of nurse practitioners to deliver injections, says: ‘Treatment by both drugs results in stable vision in two-thirds of patients and improved vision in about  one third. The cost of treating this condition with both drugs remains high but there may be fewer injections needed with Eylea. Both drugs produce good outcomes for patients, so the future is looking brighter for AMD sufferers.’

macularsociety.org

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Comments (1)

what you think

The comments below have not been moderated.

Louise,

Belfast,

1 hour ago

I have 2 to 3 small RPE changes in my eye diagnosed several weeks ago (by chance as I went to optician who couldn’t see anything then eye casualty because I have been having floaters and thought something wasn’t right)which I have been told is nothing to worry about although it could be early stage AMD I am only 34 my mother had it from her 50s and gets injections I just wish a treatment came for the dry one which is likely what I have as no fluid or blood in the 2 or 3 spots. I am worried sick I have seen my mother lose her sight from she was in her 30s due to ocular histoplasmosis and now the wet AMD. I am going monthly to opticians and hospital appointments, I feel I am torturing myself but can’t stop it, not until I get proper answers. How quick can this progress? I have the chart to check my eye sight but need constant reassurance

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