Retinal specialists express concern over rising incidence of AMD

A survey of retinal specialists found that respondents are “greatly alarmed” by an increase in cases of wet age-related macular degeneration. Wet AMD can lead to emotional distress and clinical depression in affected patients, survey respondents said, which is also of great concern.

The survey was conducted by Eyetech Pharmaceuticals and Pfizer in consultation with Lighthouse International.

Of 100 respondents, 83 said they were “greatly alarmed” by the increasing number of cases of wet AMD. More than 95% agreed that wet AMD is a public health epidemic and that new approaches to the prevention and treatment of the disease are necessary.

Nearly all respondents said current treatments are limited, and more than 85% were dissatisfied with current options.

More than 70% of respondents said better treatment outcomes could be achieved if the disease was diagnosed earlier. Nearly half said patients do not see a retinal specialist sooner because they “do not understand the urgency.”

Almost 90% of respondents said they believe vision exams for patients older than 65 should include AMD screening.