Is lucentis (recently approved drug) available in Ne?

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Doesn't sound like it is available yet but I would call the phone #'s and find out. Good luck

Please visit www.lucentis.com or call 1-866-Lucentis.

Lucentis: Hope for AMD patients

Jul. 26, 2006 12:00 AM

Pravin U. Dugel, M.D., is a vitreoretinal diseases and surgery specialist with Retinal Consultants of AZ Ltd. and runs a practice in several Valley locations, including Peoria at 13943 N. 91st Ave., Bldg. D. Dugel led the Lucentis clinical trials for Retinal Consultants of AZ Ltd. (www.retinal consultantsaz.com).

QUESTION: My physician told me that I have wet age-related macular degeneration. What exactly does that mean, what caused this, and are there any treatments available to treat my condition?

ANSWER: Before I answer this question in its entirety, I will try to help you understand the nature of this disease and its impact, and then I'd like to offer you some hope in this exciting time of this field. advertisement

Age-Related Macular Degeneration, or AMD, is characterized by a loss of function in the portion of the eye responsible for central vision. Symptoms of AMD include blurred vision, difficulty seeing at a distance or doing detailed work - like sewing or reading fine print - blind spots developing in the middle of the field of vision, colors becoming hard to distinguish, and distortion causing edges or lines to appear wavy.

While some forms of macular degeneration result from hereditary diseases, most cases occur as part of the aging process. The advanced form of this disease affects nearly 30,000 people in Arizona, so know that you are not alone. It all sounds very frightening, but recent medical breakthroughs offer hope to patients with the wet AMD.

There are two forms of AMD, dry and wet. Approximately one in seven patients with dry AMD will develop the wet form, which can lead to blindness. Essentially, your eye has been damaged due to the growth of new blood vessels leaking blood and fluid into your retina.

Lucentis, a new drug recently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, has the potential to improve or maintain vision in many patients with the wet form of AMD. In key clinical trials, nearly all patients (95 percent) treated with Lucentis maintained their vision, and more than one-third of the patients' vision improved by three lines or more on an eye chart.

Lucentis is administered through intravitreal injection, and has been studied in two Phase III studies over the course of six years. Several of my patients and I were involved in these studies, and I was able to witness firsthand the remarkable results achieved for my patients. I've seen patients with vision loss measuring 20/160 on the eye chart improve to 20/40 or better. This was typical studywide, as 40 percent of all patients treated reached 20/40 or better as well.

Of course, as with any prescription drug, you need to first consider the side effects and discuss all treatment options with your physician. Please visit www.lucentis.com or call 1-866-Lucentis.

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Is lucentis (recently approved drug) available in Ne?

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