Treatment of dry age-related macular degeneration

We have entered the era of pathwaybased therapy for the early and late manifestations of AMD. Each of the treatments mentioned in this chapter acts at a putative step in the pathogenesis of AMD. Steps that have been targeted thus far include oxidative damage, lipofuscin accumulation, chronic inflammation (including complement activation), extracellular matrix changes (e.g. β -amyloid accumulation), and apoptosis. In principle, these therapies can be combined ('combination therapy'), which may lead to synergistic effects that include better visual outcome, less likelihood for 'escape' (i.e. drug resistance), and less frequent treatment.