Clinical Efficacy of Intravitreal Injection of Dobesilate for Reversing Choroidal Angiogenesis in Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Abstract

Wet age-related macular degeneration is associated with chronic ischemia and inflammation that upregulate several inflammatory cytokines and growth factors, particularly vascular endothelial growth factor and fibroblast growth factor which promote the growth of choroidal neovascularization. Only with the introduction of drugs that directly inhibit the actions of vascular endothelial growth factor have ophthalmologists been able to offer patients with wet age-related macular degeneration reasonable hope for improvement of vision. However, intravitreal administration of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor drugs could be associated with unexpected ocular and systemic side effects. We present consecutive case series of 64 eyes of 64 patients with wet age-related macular degeneration treated with a single intravitreal injection of Dobesilate, a synthetic fibroblast growth factor inhibitor. The end points were the improvement from baseline visual acuity and normalization of retinal histology at 1 month. Intravitreal Dobesilate injection results in a significant improvement in functional and anatomic outcomes from the first month after injection. There were no cases of treatment-associated complications.