| dc.description.abstract | Abstract: Age-related macular degeneration is a leading cause of severe visual loss and reading disability in the population >60 years of age. The incidence is high and increasing as the elderly population expands. The pathogenesis is multifactorial, and the disease affects the retina, retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), Bruchs membrane and choriocapillaries. There are two different types, or stages, of AMD: dry (atrophic) and wet (neovascular) form of AMD. About 80 % of the patients affected by AMD have the dry form, for which there is currently no effective treatment. The development of choroidal neovascularizations (CNV) inducing macular oedema is specific to wet AMD, and is the current target for treatment. Wet AMD is currently treated with intravitreal anti-angiogenic injections, first of all anti-VEGF. Despite the fact that Avastin (bevacizumab) is unlicensed for intraocular use, it has a good marketshare worldwide used off-label, because of the huge difference in price compared to Lucentis (ranibizumab) which has approval for the treatment of wet AMD. The use of cost-effective off-label drugs to treat ophthalmological diseases is an important and interesting problem to be solved, particularly since it can become a recurrent challenge in the future. | eng |