A choice fit for King Solomon
A lot of people worry about things like losing their eyesight or suffering a stroke as they get older. And no one wants to worry about having one while attempting to prevent the other. But if you are taking Lucentis, the eye drug that came onto the market last June that's used to treat wet age-related macular degeneration, the chance of stroke is now a cause for concern.
Genentech, the company that sells Lucentis, has alerted retina specialists that they've found an increased risk of stroke associated with the marketed higher dose of 0.5 milligrams. The drug label carries a warning about risks of blood-clotting events such as stroke and heart attacks.
In a clinical trial, 2,400 patients were followed for an average timeframe of 230 days since the start of their treatment. Of that group, 1.2 percent of them suffered a stroke. That's over 28 people in less than one year's time. And this is compared to those who were treated with a lower dose, of which only 0.3 percent of those patients suffered a stroke.
Better to know your risk if you do have this less common form of macular degeneration. If your physician is proposing Lucentis, be sure to discuss this known risk with him before a decision is made to treat. Also be sure to have a full discussion on the role of nutritional therapy, which is very well supported by good science these days. High doses of zinc and antioxidants-including vitamin E and lutein-can help slow the progress of macular degeneration.
