Macugen and Cataract - a phase IV clinical study of FDA data

Summary:

Cataract is reported as a side effect among people who take Macugen (pegaptanib sodium), especially for people who are female, 60+ old, have been taking the drug for 6 - 12 months also take Avastin, and have Macular degeneration.

The phase IV clinical study analyzes which people have Cataract when taking Macugen. It is created by eHealthMe based on reports of 612 people who have side effects when taking Macugen from the FDA, and is updated regularly.

What is Macugen?

Macugen has active ingredients of pegaptanib sodium. eHealthMe is studying from 615 Macugen users. Check the latest studies of Macugen.

What is Cataract?

Cataract (clouding of the lens inside the eye) is found to be associated with 1,892 drugs and 2,131 conditions by eHealthMe. Check the latest studies of Cataract.



On Jul, 21, 2026

612 people reported to have side effects when taking Macugen.
Among them, 15 people (2.45%) have Cataract.

Could Macugen cause Cataract?

Among these 15 people:

How long have people been on Macugen when they have Cataract? *

  • < 1 month: 0.0 %
  • 1 - 6 months: 0.0 %
  • 6 - 12 months: 100 %
  • 1 - 2 years: 0.0 %
  • 2 - 5 years: 0.0 %
  • 5 - 10 years: 0.0 %
  • 10+ years: 0.0 %

What is the gender of people who have Cataract when taking Macugen? *

  • female: 64.29 %
  • male: 35.71 %

What is the age of people who have Cataract when taking Macugen? *

  • 0-1: 0.0 %
  • 2-9: 0.0 %
  • 10-19: 0.0 %
  • 20-29: 0.0 %
  • 30-39: 0.0 %
  • 40-49: 0.0 %
  • 50-59: 6.67 %
  • 60+: 93.33 %

What are other drugs people take besides Macugen? *

  1. Lucentis: 6 people, 40.00%
  2. Avastin: 6 people, 40.00%
  3. Vigamox: 5 people, 33.33%
  4. Visudyne: 3 people, 20.00%
  5. Lipitor: 3 people, 20.00%
  6. Pantoprazole: 2 people, 13.33%
  7. Aspirin: 2 people, 13.33%
  8. Betadine: 2 people, 13.33%
  9. Colace: 2 people, 13.33%
  10. Humalog: 2 people, 13.33%

What are other side effects people have besides Cataract? *

  1. Retinal Haemorrhage (bleeding from retina): 7 people, 46.67%
  2. Retinal Detachment (a disorder of the eye in which the retina peels away from its underlying layer of support tissue): 5 people, 33.33%
  3. Endophthalmitis (inflammation of the internal coats of the eye): 5 people, 33.33%
  4. Visual Acuity Reduced (reduced clearness of vision): 5 people, 33.33%
  5. Eye Pain: 4 people, 26.67%
  6. Vitreous Haemorrhage (intraocular (inside the eye) bleeding): 4 people, 26.67%
  7. Stroke (sudden death of a portion of the brain cells due to a lack of oxygen): 3 people, 20.00%
  8. Retinal Oedema (swelling of retina): 3 people, 20.00%
  9. Choroidal Haematoma (collection of clot in vascular layer of eye): 3 people, 20.00%
  10. Choroidal Neovascularisation (creation of new blood vessels in vascular layer of eye): 3 people, 20.00%

What are the existing conditions these people have? *

  1. Macular Degeneration (painless eye condition that leads to the gradual loss of central vision): 8 people, 53.33%
  2. Diabetic Retinal Oedema (excessive build-up of fluid in the retina due to diabetes): 3 people, 20.00%
  3. Age-Related Macular Degeneration: 3 people, 20.00%
  4. Ill-Defined Disorder: 2 people, 13.33%
  5. Hyperlipidaemia (presence of excess lipids in the blood): 2 people, 13.33%
  6. Diabetic Retinopathy (damage to the retina caused by complications of diabetes): 2 people, 13.33%
  7. Intraocular Pressure Increased: 1 person, 6.67%
  8. Amblyopia (lazy eye): 1 person, 6.67%

* Approximation only. Some reports may have incomplete information.

Do you take Macugen and have Cataract?

- Check whether Cataract is associated with a drug or a condition
- Predict drug outcomes for up to one year with AI
- Get an AI agent to monitor your drugs continuously



Related studies:

Effectiveness of, long term effects of, and alternative drugs to Macugen:

Cataract treatments and more:

How severe was Cataract and when was it recovered:

Expand to all the drugs that have ingredients of pegaptanib sodium:

Sub-studies by gender and age:

Female: 0-1 2-9 10-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60+

Male: 0-1 2-9 10-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60+

Browse all side effects of Macugen:

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Browse all the drugs that are associated with Cataract:

Browse all the conditions that are associated with Cataract:

Related publications that referenced our studies


How the study uses the data?

The study uses data from the FDA. It is based on pegaptanib sodium (the active ingredients of Macugen) and Macugen (the brand name). Other drugs that have the same active ingredients (e.g. generic drugs) are not considered. Dosage of drugs is not considered in the study.

How to use the study?

DO NOT STOP MEDICATIONS without first consulting your doctor. If there are any serious or long term adverse effects discovered in the study, discuss the study with your doctor to ensure that proper medication management will be in place if applicable.

Who is eHealthMe?

With medical big data and proven AI/ML algorithms, eHealthMe provides a platform for everyone to run phase IV clinical trials. We study millions of patients and 5,000 more each day. Results of our real-world drug study have been referenced on 800+ peer-reviewed medical publications, including The Lancet, Mayo Clinic Proceedings, and Nature. Our analysis results are available to researchers, health care professionals, patients (testimonials), and software developers (open API).

WARNING, DISCLAIMER, USE FOR PUBLICATION

WARNING: Please DO NOT STOP MEDICATIONS without first consulting a physician since doing so could be hazardous to your health.

DISCLAIMER: All material available on eHealthMe.com is for informational purposes only, and is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment provided by a qualified healthcare provider. All information is observation-only. Our phase IV clinical studies alone cannot establish cause-effect relationship. Different individuals may respond to medication in different ways. Every effort has been made to ensure that all information is accurate, up-to-date, and complete, but no guarantee is made to that effect. The use of the eHealthMe site and its content is at your own risk.

If you use this eHealthMe study on publication, please acknowledge it with a citation: study title, URL, accessed date.



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