Method for treatment of macular degeneration

Abstract

The present invention provides a method for treating macular degeneration utilizing a therapeutic agent delivery system that is disposed in proximity of the sclera after which one or more therapeutic agents are injected or diffused into the sclera to provide for the dissolution of waste products in Bruch's membrane.

Description

[0001] The present application claims priority from and is a divisional application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10 / 817,230, filed Apr. 2, 2004 (2004.04.02), and entitled Apparatus and Method for Treatment of Age-Related Macular Degeneration, the specification and drawings of which are incorporated herein in their entirety by reference, which in turn claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60 / 459,689, filed Apr. 3, 2003, and entitled Apparatus and Method for Treatment of Age-Related Macular Degeneration, the specification and drawings of which are incorporated herein in their entirety by reference.FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] The present invention relates generally to apparatus and methods for treatment of ophthalmologic problems and specifically to apparatus and methods for the treatment of macular degeneration. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] Macular degeneration is a chronic eye disease that occurs when tissue in the macula, the part of the ey...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0030] Another object of present invention is to deliver medication into Bruch's membrane that will dissolve lipid deposits in the body of the membrane and assist in their removal through the choroidal circulation.

[0035] In one embodiment of the present invention, the delivery apparatus is an elongate needle movable between a retracted or passive position wherein the distal end of the needle is disposed within the probe and an extended or active position wherein the distal needle end extends out from the distal probe end opening. The needle is fluidly connected to a pharmaceutical reservoir. In use, after proper positioning of the probe distal end relative to the macula 38 and the area of the eye to receive therapy, the distal needle end will be extended so as to penetrate the sclera and lipase and / or other waste dissolving therapeutic agents, principally lipases, will be injected into the sclera from the reservoir. The lipase will or similar agent will dissolve the waste products accumulated in Bruch's membrane, which will allow them to be carried away by the bloodstream, thus clearing the membrane of such waste materials, restoring greater efficiency to the nutrient / waste cycle operating between the macula 38 and the choroid, and delaying or preventing the progression of the degeneration of the macula 38.

[0038] In another embodiment of the invention, the probe may provide a delivery apparatus taking the form of a plurality of porous pads, with at least a pair of the pads being electrically connected to an electric power source to enhance the diffusion of the therapeutic agents into the sclera by means of iontophoresis.

Problems solved by technology

In fact, macular degeneration is the leading cause of severe vision loss in people age 50 and older.

Still another early symptom is that fine print may become harder to read and street signs may become more difficult to recognize.

Progression of the damage and the consequent reduction in vision may, and usually does, lead to severe vision loss in one or both eyes.

Still, the loss of clear central vision—critical for reading, driving, recognizing people's faces and doing detail work—greatly affects the quality of life.

But as the drusen and mottled pigmentation continue to develop, vision may deteriorate sooner.

This affects the overlying cones and rods and may result in complete loss of central vision.

If wet macular degeneration in one eye develops, the odds of getting it in the other eye increase greatly.

Sight loss is usually rapid and severe, and usually results in legal blindness, defined as 20 / 200 vision or worse.

These vessels penetrate Bruch's membrane and leak fluid or blood—hence the name wet macular degeneration—into the retina and cause central vision to blur.

Currently there's no treatment for dry macular degeneration.

In most cases the damage already caused by macular degeneration can't be reversed.

Even if photocoagulation is a viable option for a particular patient, the results can be disappointing.

And even successfully destroyed CNV has a tendency to recur.

Repeat laser treatment may not be possible in such an event.

If conventional high-energy photocoagulation laser surgery were used at this location, it would destroy all central vision.

Thus, while progress has been made in treating macular degeneration once it has developed, little has been done to prevent the development of the condition in the first instance.

More specifically it is believed that with age the RPE may deteriorate and become thin (a process known as atrophy).

Thus, it is believed that RPE atrophy results in a declining efficiency of the nutritional and waste removing cycles between the retina 20 and the choroid 28.

Especially detrimental for the diffusion or transport of nutrients through the membrane are depositions of neutral lipids, or fats, that increase the membrane's hydrophobicity and consequently, resistance of the membrane to the transfer of fluids across it.

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