Journal of Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology
Open Access

A posterior-eye drug delivery system for treatment of age-related macular degeneration

6^th Global Ophthalmologists Annual Meeting

May 16-18, 2016 Osaka, Japan

Dimitris Hatziavramidis

National Technical University of Athens, Greece

Posters & Accepted Abstracts: J Clin Exp Ophthalmol

Abstract :

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a progressive, neurodegenerative, occular disease and a leading cause of irreversible loss of vision in aging adults in developed countries. Its pathogenesis is characterized by uncontrolled proliferation of cells and cell growth in blood vessels, leaking of blood and proteins and aberrant folding, aggregation and accumulation of proteins. Overexpression of the vascular epithelial growth factor (VEGF) causes uncontrolled blood vessel growth resulting in violation of the bloodretina barrier and accumulation of blood and protein debris causes neuro-degeneration of cells in the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) and tissue dysfunction. The current treatment of AMD is primarily based on anti-VEGF drugs which are administered by intra-vitreal injection. It has been recently proposed to administer exogenous heat shock proteins such as Hsp70 by intra-vitreal injection in order to clear accumulated debris from RPE and inhibit aggregate-based cell neuro-degeneration. An equally effective and less vision-threatening than intra-vitreal injection route of administration of the above macromolecular drugs is trans-scleral delivery from an implant in the posterior eye, made out of a poly (N-isopropyl acrylamide) (NIPAM) thermally sensitive gel. This gel undergoes a phase transition characterized by a lower critical solution temperature (LCST) of 33oC, below which the drug is loaded in the gel and above which the drug is released from the gel.

Biography :

Email: dhatz@chemeng.ntua.gr