EGVRS: "Access to wet AMD treatment via national health insurance is crucial to help save 50,000 patients from blindness"

Cairo, 22 March 2012: the Egyptian Vitreoretinal Society (EGVRS) held a press conference today revealing highlights of its annual meeting. Participants tackled challenges facing wet age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD), the world's leading cause of blindness in people over 55 and for the first time revealed new hope for restoring associated vision loss. Experts underlined the necessity of facilitating access to treatment via the National Health Insurance to save wet AMD patients from potentially debilitating outcomes.

"Advanced AMD destroys the detailed central vision we need to recognize faces, read, drive, and enjoy daily life.  Although AMD is as twice as prevalent as Alzheimer's, affecting nearly 30 million people worldwide, many people are unfamiliar with the disease," said Dr Hany Hamza, Professor of Opthalmology, Cairo University and EGVRS Secretary General.

"Affecting one in ten people over the age of 55, advanced AMD occurs in the "dry" or "wet" form. Wet AMD is a more serious condition and accounts for 90% of blindness resulting from AMD," said Dr Hamza. "The number of people going blind as a result of wet AMD is increasing alarmingly; it is estimated that 500,000 people will lose their sight annually from the disease, bringing the total to almost 6.3 million by 2030," he added.

"Early detection and proper treatment is key to saving vision; wet AMD can lead to blindness in less than three months, and without treatment those diagnosed will become functionally blind within two years," said Dr Hamza.

The development of a new class of drugs called anti-VEGF was the conference highlight, offering a glimmer of hope for restoring vision loss. "Anti-VEGF drugs work by targeting VEGF (Vascular endothelial growth factor), a protein involved in causing new blood vessel formation. In the case of AMD these new blood vessels are unstable and tend to leak fluid and blood under the retina, causing loss of central vision. The anti-VEGF drugs work by inhibiting the growth of new blood vessels," explained Dr Magdy Moussa, Professor of Opthalmology, Tanta University

"In many peer countries treatment for wet AMD is reimbursed. With more than 50,000 patients in Egypt, it is critical for similar action to be taken here," emphasized Dr Moussa. "Recognizing wet AMD as a chronic, potentially debilitating disease will improve access to care and reimbursement. This will reduce preventable sight loss and minimize the substantial emotional, physical and economic burden associated with treating the disease as an acute condition," he added.

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© Press Release 2012