Dimitris Hatziavramidis
National Technical University of Athens, Greece
Title: A Posterior-Eye Drug Delivery System for Treatment of Age-Related Macular Degeneration
Biography
Biography: Dimitris Hatziavramidis
Abstract
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a progressive, neurodegenerative, occular disease and a leading cause of irreversible loss of vision in aging adults in developed countries. Its pathogenesis is characterized by uncontrolled proliferation of cells and cell growth in blood vessels, leaking of blood and proteins and aberrant folding, aggregation and accumulation of proteins. Over-expression of the vascular epithelial growth factor (VEGF) causes uncontrolled blood vessel growth resulting in violation of the blood-retina barrier and accumulation of blood and protein debris causes neuro-degeneration of cells in the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) and tissue dysfunction. The current treatment of AMD is primarily based on anti-VEGF drugs which are administered by intra-vitreal injection. It has been recently proposed to administer exogenous heat shock proteins such as Hsp70 by intra-vitreal injection in order to clear accumulated debris from RPE and inhibit aggregate-based cell neuro-degeneration. An equally effective and less vision-threatening than intra-vitreal injection route of administration of the above macromolecular drugs is trans-scleral delivery from an implant in the posterior eye, made out of a poly (N-isopropyl acrylamide) (NIPAM) thermally sensitive gel. This gel undergoes a phase transition characterized by a lower critical solution temperature (LCST) of 33oC, below which the drug is loaded in the gel and above which the drug is released from the gel.