The November issue of the Revista Española de Patología Macular (Spanish Journal of Macular Pathology) includes the Expert Clinical Guide on the management of exudative age-related macular degeneration (AMD). This document has been agreed by 16 retina specialists from the Spanish Retina and Vitreous Society (SERV), of which Dr. Jordi Monés, director of the Institut de la Macula i de la Retina and member of Top Doctors, is a member. This confirms that the proactive treatment regimen for exudative AMD that the Institut de la Màcula i de la Retina has been applying for years is the most effective.
Once again, it is important to insist that after detecting the first possible symptoms of exudative AMD, a specialist should be consulted as soon as possible in order to perform a series of tests to make sure of the diagnosis. The tests recommended for the diagnosis of AMD are: visual acuity, fluorescein angiography, indocyanine green angiography, optical coherence tomography, autofluorescence, microperimetry and differential diagnosis.
Once all the tests have been performed and if it is confirmed that the patient is affected by the pathology, he/she should undergo a specialized and individualized treatment to try to paralyze the condition. On some occasions, the treatment does not offer the expected results; if this is the case, the ophthalmologist must perform new studies and take other measures to try to solve it, whenever possible.
The Institut’s team, in addition to the previous advice, recommends starting to treat the pathology before progression occurs, since the sooner a solution is sought, the lesser the consequences will be. It is also advised to administer treatment even if the lesion remains inactive.
Among the authors of the aforementioned guide are Dr. Jordi Monés and 15 other retinologists who are: Alfredo García-Layana, Luis Arias, Marta S. Figueroa, Javier Araiz, José Mª Ruiz-Moreno, José García-Arumí, Francisco Gómez-Ulla, Mª Isabel López-Gálvez, Francisco Cabrera-López, Jose Manuel García-Campos, Enrique Cervera, Félix Armadá, Miguel Ángel Serrano, Juan Donate and Roberto Gallego-Pinazo.
If you are interested in the subject, you can consult the following articles on AMD by Dr. Monés:
AMD: new advances in its treatment.
Changes in the treatment of age-related macular degeneration (AMD).