Abstract: Objective To observe the effectiveness of lucentise, an anti- VEGF drug, in the treatment of different courses of wet age-related macular degeneration. Methods 62 cases of wet age-related macular degeneration, including 62 eyes, enrolled into the study. According to the courses of disease, 32 eyes were divided into group A (<6 months) and the other 30 eyes in group B (6-12 months). All the patients received intravitreal injection of ranibizumab (0.5 mg)once a month for 3 consecutive months. At the end of each month, assessment were made to determine whether the next injection was necessary. In a 12-month follow-up,FFA examination was performed every three months. For group A, the average number of letters on ETDRS visual acuity chart was (52.36±8.62), and the average CRT was (334.62±50.26) μm. The corresponding results for Group B were (36.41±6.73) and (368.37±40.52) μm. Visual acuity before and after treatment were observed. The number of letters, macular retinal thickness (CRT) and the injection times between the two groups were compared. Results In group A, 3,6,12 months after the first injection,the improvements of the number of letters in ETDRS eye chart were 16.82 ± 3.56,17.33±3.47 and 15.72±4.38, respectively, compared to 9.23±2.51,10.22±3.46 and 8.34±3.51 in group B (t=9.643,8.074,7.290; P<0.05). The decrease of CRT at 3, 6, 12 months after the first injection were 175.86±55.23 μm, 168.75±46.38 μm and 173.58±35.63 μm in group A,compared to 102.34±32.31 μm, 93.76±28.73 μm and 89.65±27.82 μm in group B (t=6.342,7.593,10.291; P<0.05). In the first year of follow-up, the patients in group A were injected 4.6±1.7 times on average, while the number in group B were 6.8±2.2 times (t=4.422, P<0.05). Conclusion Anti-VEGF drugs (lucentise) demonstrates better clinical results on visual acuity improvement and decrease of CRT thickness for wet age-related macular degeneration patients with duration less than six months than those with duration between six to twelve months. Early application of lucentise injection can reduce the injection times and cost for the treatment.

Key words: Macular degeneration/treatment, Choroidal neovascularization, Antibody, Lucentis