View clinical trials related to Macular Degeneration.
Filter by:The primary purpose of this study is to determine if injections of rhuFab V2 into the eye in combination with verteporfin photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a safe and efficacious treatment for patients with age-related macular degeneration.
The purpose of this study was to evaluate anecortave acetate compared to placebo for maintenance of visual acuity after 24 months of treatment in patients with subfovial choroidal neovascularization (CNV) due to exudative age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
This study will compare the side effects of two laser treatments for diabetic macular edema, a common condition in patients with diabetes. In macular edema, blood vessels in the retina, a thin layer of tissue that lines the back of the eye become leaky and the retina swells. The macula, the center part of the retina that is responsible for fine vision may also swell, causing vision loss. Traditional laser treatment (argon blue or green or yellow) for macular swelling, or edema, causes scarring that can expand and possibly lead to more loss of vision. Studies with a different type of laser (diode) may be less damaging. The results of this study on side effects of the treatments will be used to design a larger study of effectiveness. This study will also examine whether celecoxib (Celebrex® (Registered Trademark)), an anti-arthritis drug that reduces inflammation and swelling, can reduce inflammation and swelling of the retina. Patients with elevated cholesterol levels will be invited to participate in a cholesterol reduction part of the study to compare normal-pace cholesterol reduction with accelerated reduction. Patients 18 years of age and older with type 1 or type 2 diabetes and macular edema that requires laser treatment may be eligible for this study. Candidates will be screened with the following tests and procedures: - Medical history: to review past medical conditions and treatments. - Physical examination: to measure vital signs (pulse, blood pressure, temperature, breathing rate) and examine the head and neck, heart, lungs, abdomen, arms and legs. - Eye examination: to assess visual acuity (eye chart test) and examine pupils, lens, retina, and eye movements. The pupils will be dilated with drops for this examination. - Blood tests: to measure cholesterol, blood clotting time, hemoglobin A1C (a measure of diabetes control), and to evaluate liver and kidney function. - Eye photography: to help evaluate the status of the retina and changes that may occur in the future. Special photographs of the inside of the eye are taken using a camera that flashes a bright light into the eye. From 2 to 20 pictures may be taken, depending on the eye condition. - Fluorescein angiography: to evaluate the eye's blood vessels. A yellow dye is injected into an arm vein and travels to the blood vessels in the eyes. Pictures of the retina are taken using a camera that flashes a blue light into the eye. The pictures show if any dye has leaked from the vessels into the retina, indicating possible blood vessel abnormality. Participants will be randomly assigned to take celecoxib or placebo (an inactive, look-alike pill). Participants who have elevated cholesterol levels may return for a brief visit after 1 month. All patients will return for follow-up visits at 3, 6, and 12 months. Patients who require laser treatment will be randomly assigned to one of the two laser treatments. For these procedures, eye drops are put in the eye to numb the surface and a contact lens is placed on the eye during the laser beam application. Several visits may be required for additional laser treatments. The maximum number of treatments depends on how well the treatment is working. Patients who respond well to the study medication may receive no laser treatments. After the first year, patients will be followed every 6 months until either the patient returns for a 3-year visit, the last enrolled patient returns for the 1-year visit, or the patient requests to leave the study. During the follow-up visits, patients' response to treatment will be evaluated with repeat tests of several of the screening exams.
This study will determine whether the drug celecoxib (Celebrex® (Registered Trademark)) can help stabilize or improve vision in patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) who are receiving photodynamic therapy, or PDT (also called cold laser treatment). The macula is the part of the retina in the back of the eye that determines central or best vision. AMD can severely impair central vision, affecting a person's ability to read, drive, and carry out daily activities. This vision loss is caused by the formation of abnormal new blood vessels in the choroid-a thin, pigmented vascular layer of the eye behind the retina-that leak blood under the macula. PTD stops the growth of these blood vessels and slows the rate of vision loss. However, the treatment usually does not cause vision to improve, and it has only a temporary effect, requiring several treatments over 2 years. Furthermore, PDT does not work in all patients and may actually cause some swelling and re-growth of blood vessels. Celecoxib is an anti-inflammatory drug that, in animal studies, has prevented the growth of abnormal blood vessels associated with tumors and with injury to the cornea. Thus, the drug might reduce swelling and prevent vessel re-growth in AMD, enhancing the effectiveness of PDT. Patients 55 years of age and older with AMD and visual acuity of 20/20 to 20/200 may be eligible for this study. Participants will be randomly assigned to take either celecoxib or a placebo (a look-alike pill with no active drug) twice a day and undergo the various tests and procedures detailed below. Not every examination will be done at every visit, but all may be required at one visit. - Medical history and physical examination - Blood drawing: A blood sample is drawn from an arm vein to evaluate liver and kidney function - Eye examination: Visual acuity and eye pressure are measured, and the lens, retina, pupils and eye movements are examined - Photography: Photographs of the eye are taken using a special camera with a bright flash - Fluorescein angiography: Pictures of the retina are taken to look for abnormal blood vessels. A yellow dye is injected into an arm vein and travels to the blood vessels in the eyes. The retina is photographed using a camera that flashes a blue light into the eye. The pictures show if any dye has leaked from the vessels into the retina, indicating possible blood vessel abnormality. - Indocyanine green angiography: This procedure, similar to fluorescein angiography, uses a green dye to photograph the retina and identify portions of abnormal vessels in the deepest part of the retina. - Optical coherence tomography: This new technique uses light to produce a 2-dimensional cross-sectional picture of the retina. The patient looks into a machine called an optical coherence tomograph at a pattern of flashing and rotating red and green lights, first with one eye and then the other. One week after starting the study medications, laser treatment will begin. For this procedure, a needle is placed in an arm vein and a chemical called verteporfin (Visudyne® (Registered Trademark)) is infused into the vein over 10 minutes. After 15 minutes, the eye is anesthetized with numbing drops. A special contact lens is then placed on the eye and the laser beam is directed to the eye for 83 seconds. Patients will be followed in the clinic every 6 weeks for 36 weeks for various examinations and possible re-treatment, if needed. Some patients will be asked to return 1 to 2 weeks after the first PDT for an eye examination and fluorescein angiography.
This study will evaluate the effectiveness of a Problem Solving Treatment in preventing depression in elderly patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
The purpose of this study is to demonstrate that Anecortave Acetate is as effective after twelve months of treatment as photodynamic therapy (PDT) with Visudyne in patients eligible for initial PDT treatment for wet age-related macular degeneration.
To evaluate the relation of retinal microvascular characteristics to subclinical cardiovascular disease, clinical disease, and their risk factors in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) cohort.
A study evaluating Retisert in patients with age-related macular degeneration
The purpose of the study is to determine whether the anti-VEGF drug is effective at stabilizing and/or improving vision in patients with the wet form of AMD
This study will try to identify and treat feeder vessels in age-related macular degeneration. The macula is the part of the retina in the back of the eye that determines central or best vision. In macular degeneration, leaking blood vessels under the macula lead to loss of central vision. These vessels branch out tree-like from one or more feeder vessels. Instead of treating all the abnormal branching vessels, this study will try to find and close only the feeder vessels, thereby depriving the abnormal vessels of nutrition. The vessels will be closed with laser beam treatment. People 50 years of age and older with macular degeneration and visual acuity worse than 20/50 in the study eye and the same or better vision in the other eye may be eligible for this study. Candidates will undergo fluorescein angiography to try to locate feeder vessels. For this procedure, a yellow dye is injected into an arm vein. The dye travels to the blood vessels in the eyes, and pictures of the retina are taken using a camera that flashes a blue light into the eye. The pictures show if any dye has leaked from the vessels into the retina, indicating possible blood vessel abnormality. Before laser treatment, participants will have a complete eye examination, including measurement of visual acuity, evaluation of the front part of the eye with a slit lamp microscope, examination of the retina with an ophthalmoscope, and measurement of eye pressure using a tonometer. During the laser treatment phase of the study, participants will have indocyanine green angiography-a procedure similar to fluorescein angiography, but using a green dye-to photograph the retina and identify feeder vessels. If feeder vessels are located, laser beam treatment will begin. For this procedure, the eye is anesthetized with numbing drops. A special contact lens is then placed on the eye for the laser treatment. The number of treatments depends on how well the individual patient responds, but usually between two and eight treatments are required. The indocyanine green angiogram will be repeated after the laser beam treatment to determine if the feeder vessels have been successfully closed. If the vessels remain partially open, a repeat application will be done, followed by another indocyanine green angiogram to check the results. Patients will be checked in the clinic after 1 week to see if additional treatment is needed. If so, re-treatment will be done in a week. If no re-treatment is required, follow-up visits will be scheduled 2, 3, and 6 weeks after treatment, 3 and 6 months after treatment, and every 6 months after that for 2 years to evaluate treatment results. The evaluations will include fluorescein angiograms and other examinations that were done before starting treatment. If abnormal vessels are still present or growing, repeat treatments will be applied following the same procedure.