Eylea

Eylea is a medicine used to treat adults with: - the ‘wet’ form of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a disease which affects the central part of the retina (called the macula) at the back of the eye. The wet form of AMD is caused by choroidal neovascularisation (the abnormal growth of blood vessels under the macula), which may leak fluid and blood and cause swelling; - impaired vision due to macular oedema (swelling) that follows blockage of either the main vein carrying blood from the retina (known as central retinal vein occlusion, CRVO), the smaller branch veins (known as branch retinal vein occlusion, BRVO) or either the superior or inferior vein (known as hemiretinal retinal vein occlusion, HRVO); - impaired vision due to macular oedema caused by diabetes; - impaired vision due to choroidal neovascularisation in people with myopia (short-sightedness). Eylea is also used to treat preterm infants with retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), an eye condition that can occur when a baby is born too early and blood vessels in the eye do not develop normally, causing damage to the retina. Eylea is used for specific stages of this disease: zone I (stage 1+, 2+, 3 or 3+), zone II (stage 2+ or 3+), as well as the rapidly progressing severe form of the disease called aggressive posterior retinopathy of prematurity disease. Eylea contains the active substance aflibercept.