PURPOSE To investigate the effect of the combined treatment of photodynamic therapy and specific VEGF165 inhibition with pegaptanib sodium (Macugen; Eyetech Pharmaceuticals, Lexington, MA) on ocular neovascularization. METHODS Photodynamic therapy's (PDT's) effects on the integrity of pegaptanib sodium were analyzed by HPLC, a VEGF165-binding assay, and a VEGF165-induced tissue factor gene ex...

Pegaptanib sodium is a polyethylene-glycolated, 28-nucleotide RNA aptamer that binds selectively to vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)165 but not smaller isoforms. Preclinical studies identified VEGF165 as an especially potent promoter of ocular neovascularization and inflammation. Following the pivotal clinical trials demonstrating the efficacy of intravitreal pegaptanib in treating all...

AIMS To evaluate the safety of up to 3 years of pegaptanib sodium therapy in the treatment of neovascular age-related macular degeneration (NV-AMD). METHODS Two concurrent, prospective, multicentre, double-masked studies randomised subjects with all angiographic lesion compositions of NV-AMD to receive intravitreous pegaptanib sodium (0.3, 1 and 3 mg) or sham injections every 6 weeks for 54 w...

PURPOSE Evaluate the efficacy of pegaptanib, a selective anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) agent, and bevacizumab, a nonselective anti-VEGF agent, for retinal pigment epithelial detachment (PED) associated with occult choroidal neovascularization (CNV) secondary to age-related macular degeneration (AMD). METHODS Prospective, comparative, nonrandomized pilot study included patient...

Purpose. To report the outcomes after primary intravitreal pegaptanib sodium in patients with diabetic macular edema (DME). Methods. We conduced a retrospective analysis of eyes with DME treated with primary intravitreal pegaptanib sodium (Macugen) (intravitreal pegaptanib group). The results were compared with the ones of eyes treated with intravitreal pegaptanib sodium associated with macular...

PURPOSE To compare vision function and self-reported quality of life (QoL) in patients with diabetic macular edema (DME) treated with intravitreous pegaptanib 0.3 mg or sham injection. METHODS This randomized (1:1), controlled, multicenter trial included subjects with DME (center point thickness on OCT, ≥ 250 μm) and visual acuity (VA) ≤ 65 letters and ≥ 35 letters. In year 1, pegaptanib or s...

OBJECTIVE Population pharmacokinetic modeling of pegaptanib was undertaken to determine influence of renal function on apparent clearance. METHODS In a randomized, double-masked multicenter trial, intravitreal pegaptanib (0.3, 1.0, or 3.0 mg/eye) was administered in patients with diabetic macular edema every 6 weeks for 12-30 weeks. A one-compartment model with first-order absorption, distrib...

OBJECTIVE To determine if prophylactic use of intraocular pressure (IOP)-lowering medication is effective in reducing the IOP spikes after intravitreal injections of pegaptanib, bevacizumab, and ranibizumab. METHODS Seventy-one patients with exudative age-related macular degeneration received intravitreal injections of 1 of 3 anti-vascular endothelial growth factor medications: 30 patients re...

AIM OF THE STUDY Tumour angiogenesis and invasion are key features of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). Angiogenesis inhibitors increase progression-free survival (PFS) of recurrent GBM patients. VEGF inhibition controls the bulk tumour growth by inhibition of angiogenesis, but does not inhibit the invasive tumour component. We investigated if invasive tumour growth can be controlled by combining ...

Pegaptanib sodium (Macugen((R))) blocks the extracellular vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) isoform VEGF(165), whose elevated levels are associated with the development of choroidal neovascularization (CNV). This selective inhibition prevents binding to the VEGF receptors and the development of the increased vascular permeability and the CNV associated with neovascular age-related degen...