Long-term treatment in Aust for ‘wet’ AMD holds vision for 6 years

Australia is now leading the world in protecting older people from the debilitating impacts of wet age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of severe vision loss and blindness in Australia.
Professor Mark Gillies is lead investigator of the Fight Retinal Blindness! Registry at the Save Sight Institute in Sydney, one of the world’s leading groups in the field. He released data from the registry at the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists international congress in Wellington, New Zealand last month.
The research shows that Australia achieves significantly better long-term treatment outcomes than Europe or the United States in enabling older Australians with the disease to continue reading and driving. Over 1,000 eyes that had been treated for 5-7 years were studied.
The average Australian patient held vision that was as good as or better than their starting vision for six years, compared with four years for the United States and two years for Europe. Forty per cent of Australian patients still had driving vision after seven years of treatment compared with only 23 per cent for the United States.
Professor Gillies said: “This is an outstanding result as the research shows that the use of carefully managed anti-VEGF injections has enabled 40 per cent of Australian patients with wet macular degeneration to still have driving vision after seven years of treatment compared with just 23 per cent for the United States.”
Ms Julie Heraghty, chief executive officer of the Macular Disease Foundation Australia said: “Anti-VEGF injections have revolutionised the managent of this devastating disease, reducing the financial, social and otional costs associated with vision loss and blindness. Thousands of Australians are now preserving quality vision thereby maintaining independence and quality of life – something that was unimaginable a decade ago, before this treatment became available.
“As most Australians want to keep driving into their 80s, this research shows that you have a far better chance to keep on driving and avoid vision loss from age-related macular degeneration.”
Professor Gillies and Ms Heraghty agreed that Australia’s outstanding results are due to a unique combination of high disease awareness, leading to earlier diagnosis and treatment and highly skilled specialists providing quality care. In addition, successive Australian governments responding quickly to enable speedy access to sight-saving treatment through reimbursent on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Sche, has been a key driver of success.
Professor Gillies said: “The undeniable message of this research is that Australia’s approach establishes global best practice by a commitment to raising awareness, early detection and the accessibility and affordability of treatment.”