ArticleThe American journal of medicine2021
Levodopa Positively Affects Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration.
Article in The American journal of medicine, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 27 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
27 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 42 citations in OpenAlex.
- Analysis of biofluid metabolomic profiles to the discovery of biomarkers in age-related macular degeneration.BMJ open ophthalmology · 2024Pooled it
- Retinal Function in Young Adults Following Topical Application of Levodopa to the Eye.Translational vision science & technology · 2024Trial
- Levodopa Is Associated with Reduced Development of Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration.Ophthalmology. Retina · 2023Trial
- The impact of systemic long-term medications for the development of age-related macular degeneration.Acta ophthalmologica · 2026Article
- The Role of Dopaminergic Agonists in Geographic Atrophy: Converging Evidence From Clinical and Experimental Data.Translational vision science & technology · 2026Article
- L-DOPA Promotes Post-Treatment Neurovascular and Synaptic Homeostasis in Early Diabetic Retinopathy.Investigative ophthalmology & visual science · 2026Article
- Functional polymorphisms in pigmentation-related genesBiochemistry and biophysics reports · 2026Article
- Levodopa Suppresses Choroidal Neovascularization Through a Tyrosinase-Dependent Dual Mechanism.Investigative ophthalmology & visual science · 2026Article
- Zinc in eye health, retinal biology and disease.Progress in retinal and eye research · 2025Review
- Regulated cell death in age-related macular degeneration: Regulatory mechanisms and therapeutic potential.Journal of pharmaceutical analysis · 2025Review
- Targeting neurodegeneration and inflammation with thioredoxin-mimetic peptides.Redox biology · 2025Review
- Title Oxidative Stress in Age-Related Macular Degeneration: From Molecular Mechanisms to Emerging Therapeutic Targets.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Retinal Thickness in Patients with Parkinson's Disease and Dopa Responsive Dystonia-Is There Any Difference?Biomedicines · 2025Article
- Different Therapeutic Approaches for Dry and Wet AMD.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Review
- Levodopa is associated with reduced development of new-onset geographic atrophy in patients with age-related macular degeneration.Eye and vision (London, England) · 2024Article
- Human equivalent doses of L-DOPA rescues retinal morphology and visual function in a murine model of albinism.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Oxidative and Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress Represent Novel Therapeutic Targets for Choroideremia.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Repurposing medications for treatment of age-related macular degeneration: Insights from novel approaches to data mining.Experimental biology and medicine (Maywood, N.J.) · 2023Review
- Acute Visual Impairment in a Patient with Parkinson's Disease after Successful Bilateral Subthalamic Nucleus Deep Brain Stimulation with Low-Dose Levodopa: A Case Report.Brain sciences · 2023Article
- Repurposing Drugs for Treatment of Age-Related Macular Degeneration.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundAge-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a common cause of blindness worldwide. Neovascular AMD (nAMD) is an advanced form of the disease, in which excess vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) induces growth of new blood vessels that leak fluid, accounting for 90% of vision loss in AMD. Dysfunction of the retinal pigment epithelium likely initiates AMD. Retinal pigment epithelial cells express a G protein-coupled receptor, GPR143, which downregulates VEGF in response to levodopa. Anti-VEGF therapy effectively treats nAMD, suggesting that excessive VEGF activity drives the pathology.
methodsIn an open-label pilot study, in patients with newly diagnosed nAMD and naïve to anti-VEGF injections (Cohort-1), the effects of carbidopa-levodopa on vision and anatomic outcomes were evaluated for 4 weeks. Then patients were followed 5 months further with ascending levodopa doses. Patients previously treated with anti-VEGF injection therapy (Cohort-2) were also treated with ascending levodopa doses and evaluated for 6 months.
resultsLevodopa was safe, well tolerated, and delayed anti-VEGF injection therapy while improving visual outcomes. In the first month, retinal fluid decreased by 29% (P = .02, n = 12) without anti-VEGF treatment. Through 6 months the decrease in retinal fluid was sustained, with a mean frequency of 0.38 injections/month. At month 6, mean visual acuity improved by 4.7 letters in Cohort-1 (P = .004, n = 15) and by 4.8 letters in Cohort-2 (P = .02, n = 11). Additionally, there was a 52% reduction in the need for anti-VEGF injections in Cohort-2 (P = .002).
conclusionsOur findings suggest efficacy and support the pharmacological targeting of GPR143 with levodopa for the treatment of nAMD in future studies.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.