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Rheopheresis may be useful in select patients with dry AMD
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NUREMBERG, Germany — Visual acuity in select patients with dry age-related macular degeneration was “statistically significantly improved” after undergoing rheopheresis treatment, said David S. Boyer, MD. He presented final results from the Multicenter Investigation of Rheopheresis for AMD, or MIRA study, here at the German Ophthalmic Surgeons meeting.
Rheopheresis is the elimination of rheologically relevant high molecular plasma proteins from the eye, Dr. Boyer said. The treatment is approved for use in Germany and is currently being investigated there as a treatment for drusen, mild pigment distribution or initial atrophy.
Calling the study the “largest masked apheresis trial ever done,” Dr. Boyer said 121 patients, ranging in age from 50 to 85 years old with a baseline visual acuity of 20/32 to 20/125, were enrolled.
After 12 months, 47% of patients in the treated group gained 1 line compared with 18% in the control group. Dr. Boyer said 10% of the treated group lost 1 line compared with 24% in the control group.
“The mechanism of action is unknown,” Dr. Boyer said. “It may modify the diffusion characteristics of Bruch’s membrane.”
There was a low incidence of serious adverse events, Dr. Boyer said, with only a 1.6% dropout rate.
Plans are under way in the United States for a study of the treatment of AMD, he said.