Chapter Twenty-Two - Recent Progress in Small-Molecule Agents Against Age-Related Macular Degeneration

• Autores: Muneto Mogi, Christopher M. Adams, Nan Ji, Nello Mainolfi
• Localización: Annual reports in medicinal chemistry, ISSN 0065-7743, Vol 48, 2013, págs. 353-369
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • Abstract Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of vision loss and blindness in industrialized countries. Drusen and hyper- or hypopigmentation of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) are the characteristics of early AMD (also known as dry AMD). This asymptomatic abnormality of the RPE advances to two forms of AMD with a permanent loss of vision: geographic atrophy (GA) and/or choroidal neovascularization (CNV or also known as wet AMD). Although significant progress has been made in recent years for the treatment of wet AMD using intravitreal injections of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) biologics, there is still a need for less invasive treatment options. Furthermore, unlike for wet AMD, there is currently no treatment available for dry AMD or GA. This review will cover three emerging therapeutic target classes of low molecular weight agents for AMD: anti-angiogenesis agents, visual cycle inhibitors, and complement pathway inhibitors.