Many patients with diabetic retinopathy develop leakage from damaged capillaries that causes swelling of the retina near the central vision. This is called diabetic macular edema. In the vast majority of these patients, the leakage can be successfully treated with a painless and non-invasive laser treatment. However, a small number of patients will have persistent leakage despite laser treatment. If the leakage includes the very center of the macula, the patient may suffer loss of visual acuity. Recently, studies have shown that patients with edema in the center of the macula can benefit from injections of a medication known as a vascular endothelial growth factor inhibitor (VEGF inhibitor). Unfortunately, the only way to deliver the medication to the retina is by using a needle to inject the medication into the cavity of the eye (this is called an Intravitreal Injection). This delivery method poses various risks. Most significant among these risks is the possibility of an infection inside the eyeball (endophthalmitis). In the large studies of intravitreal injections endophthalmitis occurs in a little more than 1% of patients. Other studies have shown that about 40% of patients with endophthalmitis will suffer profound permanent loss of vision, to a level that would make walking unaided impossible.
Diabetic Macular Edema - New Treatment Options
