Several medications can be injected inside the eye to treat some retinal and macular diseases.
Many maculopathies, the diseases that affect the central part of the retina, can be treated with intravitreal injections for maculopathy.
These injections are small punctures with which drugs, in very small quantities, can be administered into the patient’s eye. They are called intravitreal because the drug is injected directly into the vitreous body, the gel that fills the eye.
The best known injections are those of anti-VEGF drugs. VEGF is the molecule responsible for the growth of blood vessels in and under the retina, which cause maculopathy.
Anti-VEGF drugs whose commercial names are Lucentis, Eylea, Avastin. These are drugs that do not give a definitive cure: they have the ability to block the disease for a certain period.
After the diagnosis of wet AMD (or age-related macular degeneration), anti-VEGF drugs are administered once a month for three consecutive months. After the first course of therapy, the patient undergoes monthly checks, during which with tests such as vision measurement, eye examination and OCT examination, the ophthalmologist assesses the need for new intraocular punctures.