Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause of visual loss in the developed world with a worldwide prevalence of 196 million people worldwide, which is expected to further raise to 288 million by 2040 (Thomas CN, Sim DA, Lee WH, et al. Emerging therapies and their delivery for treating age-related macular degeneration. British Journal of Pharmacology. 2022;179(9):1908-1937). In the early and intermediate stages of the disease, AMD does not cause significant visual impairment. Visual acuity is significantly impaired in the advanced stages of the disease, with a fast decrease in the neovascular form (nAMD), and a slowly progressive loss in the dry form (i.e. geographic atrophy (GA)).
In the last decades, thanks to the introduction in the clinical practice of new treatments (i.e. anti-VEGF injections) and new diagnostic devices (i.e. optical coherence tomography) we improved the management and prognosis of nAMD patients. However, recently new molecules are available for nAMD and the first drugs for GA are coming out. At the same time, new diagnostic tools have been developed for the diagnosis, and an increasing interest is based on imaging biomarkers. The identification of new imaging biomarkers is of paramount relevance in the early diagnosis and in the understanding of mechanisms behind the pathophysiology and therapies of AMD.
In this Article Collection, we would like to clarify the different aspects of new therapies and imaging tools available in the clinical management of AMD patients. We hope to compile the latest research on, and clinical applications of, this new and important topic. In detail, for this research topic we welcome submissions of Original Research Article, Review Article, Clinical Trial, Protocol, Case Series, and Commentaries of exceptional merit addressing this aim.
Dr. Giuseppe Querques, MD, PhD, is Associate Professor at University Vita-Salute, IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele, Milan, Italy. His main topics are Medical Retina and imaging. Dr. Querques has contributed to more than 500 peer-reviewed articles published mainly in the areas of Medical Retina (age-related macular degeneration, retinal vascular diseases, hereditary retinal diseases, ophthalmic genetics). His current main area of both clinical and laboratory research is focusing on the diagnosis (imaging) and treatment of age-related macular degeneration, retinal vascular diseases, and hereditary retinal diseases. Dr. Querques is a member of the Italian Society of Ophthalmology (SOI), the French Society of Ophthalmology (SFO), the European Association of Retinal Specialists (EURETINA), the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO), the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO), the Retina Society, the Club Jules Gonin, and the Macula Society. Dr. Querques serves as Editor in Chief of Expert Review of Ophthalmology and Ophthalmology @ Point Of Care, and as Associate Editor of European Journal of Ophthalmology, Ophthalmologica, Ophthalmology and Therapy, and Retinal Cases & Brief Reports.
Dr. Querques CV
Dr. Riccardo Sacconi, MD, PhD, FEBO, is Consultant and Academic Collaborator at University Vita-Salute, IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele, Milan, Italy. Dr. Sacconi has contributed to more than 220 peer-reviewed articles published mainly in the areas of Medical Retina (age-related macular degeneration, myopia, retinal vascular diseases, hereditary retinal diseases). His main research interests include ophthalmic imaging and management of retinal diseases. Dr. Sacconi is a cofounder of Young Ophthalmology Retinal Imaging Society (YORIS) and a member of the Italian Society of Ophthalmology (SOI), the European Association of Retinal Specialists (EURETINA), the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO), the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO), and the international Retinal Imaging Society (IntRIS).
Dr. Sacconi CV
Disclosure Statement: Dr. Querques is a consultant for Alimera Sciences (Alpharetta, Georgia, USA), Allergan Inc (Irvine, California,USA), Amgen (Thousand Oaks, USA), Heidelberg (Germany), KBH (Chengdu, China), LEH Pharma (London, UK), Lumithera (Poulsbo, USA), Novartis (Basel, Switzerland), Bayer Shering-Pharma (Berlin, Germany), Sandoz (Berlin, Germany), Sifi (Catania, Italy), Soof-Fidia (Albano, Italy), Zeiss (Dublin, USA). Dr. Sacconi is a consultant for Allergan Inc (Irvine, California,USA), Bayer Shering-Pharma (Berlin, Germany), Carl Zeiss Meditec (Dublin, USA), Novartis (Basel, Switzerland).
The deadline for submitting manuscripts is December 1st, 2023.
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