Foveal structure during the induction phase of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor therapy for occult choroidal neovascularization in age-related macular degeneration

Increased choroidal thickness: a new feature to monitor age-related macular degeneration recurrence

PURPOSE

The main objective of this study was to assess choroidal thickness (CT) changes during an exudative recurrence of age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

METHODS

A real-life prospective non-interventional 9-month study was conducted in two centers in consecutive patients with exudative AMD between November 2016 and July 2017. CT was measured manually in both eyes based on enhanced-depth imaging spectral-domain optical coherence tomography at different follow-up visits scheduled in the morning.

RESULTS

A total of 134 patients were included. Ninety-five patients presented at least one episode, defined by a follow-up visit under controlled condition (dry retina) followed by a visit for exudative recurrence. A total of 119 episodes were analyzed. The mean CT change in the treated eye was + 8.45 ± 13.52 μm (p < 0.001) and + 5.62 ± 14.77 μm (p = 0.009) respectively in the subfoveal area and nasal area. No significant change in CT was observed in the fellow eye. No significant association between CT changes and treatment, number of intravitreal injections, and blood pressure was observed.

CONCLUSION

CT increased in case of exudative recurrence of neovascular AMD. The increase was mild but significant. Thus, CT could be used as a monitoring criterion, like the central retinal thickness, in AMD management.

Efficacy Comparison of Intravitreal Anti-VEGF Therapy for Three Subtypes of Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Purpose

Intravitreal antivascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) therapy has been widely used for the treatment of neovascularization (NV) secondary to age-related macular degeneration (AMD). This study aimed to compare the efficacy among different subtypes of neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD).

Methods

PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library were searched for eligible studies. We performed meta-analysis using Review Manager 5.3 and Stata/SE 12.0.

Results

A total of 24 studies met our inclusion criteria and were included in the systematic review. At 3 months, the mean logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (logMAR) improvements were -0.09, -0.18, and -0.23 for type 1, 2, and 3, respectively, while the mean macular thickness (MT) changes were -104.83, -130.76, and -196.29 μm. At 12 months, the mean changes in Early Treatment of Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) letters were 6.38, 8.12, and 9.37, while the MT decrease was 126.51, 126.52, and 139.85 μm, respectively. However, statistically significant difference was only found between type 1 and 3 in vision improvement, both in the short term (p=0.0002) and long term (p=0.01).

Conclusions

The reactivity to VEGF inhibitors varied among different subtypes of nAMD. The efficacy of intravitreal anti-VEGF therapy in type 3 nAMD was statistically better than type 1 when considering vision improvement at 3 and 12 months. Thus, the lesion subtype is a predictor for the treatment outcome which can help guide prognosis.

Subfoveal Choroidal Thickness in Eyes with Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration Treated with Anti-Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Agents

PURPOSE

We aimed to assess the subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFChT) and the effect of treatment with anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) agents on the SFChT in age-related macular degeneration (AMD) subtypes.

METHODS

We enrolled 128 eyes of 107 patients with neovascular AMD (60 women; 47 men; mean age, 73.6 ± 8.9 years), and prospectively evaluated the best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and SFChT at baseline and at 3, 6, and 12 months after treatment with anti-VEGF agents. Patients were assigned to the typical AMD, polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV), and retinal angiomatous proliferation (RAP) subgroups.

RESULTS

In total, 85 (66.4%), 31 (24.2%), and 12 (9.4%) eyes were assigned to the typical AMD, PCV, and RAP subgroups, respectively. The baseline mean BCVA was 0.75 ± 0.26, 0.72 ± 0.21, and 0.77 ± 0.24 logMAR in the typical AMD, PCV, and RAP subgroups, respectively (p = 0.774). The mean baseline SFChT was 203.20 ± 35.80, 271.80 ± 24.50, and 182.93 ± 31.31 µm, respectively (p < 0.001). Mean SFChT significantly decreased from baseline to 3, 6, and 12 months after treatment. The RAP subtype presented a significantly higher decrease in SFChT compared to the other subtypes (p = 0.01). The percentage reduction in SFChT was not significantly correlated with the number of injections (r = -0.02; p = 0.823). No association was observed between baseline SFChT and final visual acuity at 12 months (r = 0.0; p = 0.586).

CONCLUSIONS

SFChT was greatest in eyes with PCV and least in eyes with RAP. The reduction in SFChT after treatment was greater in the RAP cases. The decrease in SFChT after 12 months of anti-VEGF treatment was not associated with the number of injections and there was no correlation between the baseline SFChT and visual acuity in all AMD subtypes.

Effects of Aflibercept for Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Observational Comparative Studies

Purposes

To compare the effects of aflibercept and other anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) medications on both functional and anatomical outcomes for treatment-naïve neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) in the real world.

Methods

A systematic review and meta-analysis of observational comparative studies.

Results

A total of 18 studies remained after literature selection and quality assessment of 1697 studies. The most common aflibercept treatment regimen was three monthly injections followed by pro re nata (PRN). Aflibercept and ranibizumab had similar effects in 2-year treatment. At 3, 6, 12, and 24 months, the differences in the logarithm of minimum angle of resolution (logMAR) decrease in aflibercept and ranibizumab groups were 0.00 (95% confidence interval [CI]: −0.03 to 0.02); 0.01 (95% CI: −0.02 to 0.05); −0.03 (95% CI: −0.07 to 0.01); and –0.06 (95% CI: −0.30 to 0.17), respectively; the differences in decrease of central retinal thickness (CRT) were 3.25 μm (95% CI: −15.03 to 21.53); 7.89 μm (95% CI: −31.91 to 47.69); 2.89 μm (95% CI: −18.33 to 24.11); and −2.42 μm (95% CI: −77.87 to 73.03), respectively. However, aflibercept was significantly more effective in patients with initial reduced visual acuity (logMAR >0.6 or <55 letters; P = 0.001). In the first year, treatment frequency was not significantly different for aflibercept and ranibizumab, but aflibercept required fewer injections than ranibizumab with PRN regimen (mean −0.90; 95% CI: −1.80 to 0.00).

Conclusions

Aflibercept has comparable effects with ranibizumab for treatment-naïve nAMD in the real world, and may be more effective for patients with initial lower visual acuity.