Ultrastructural pathology of corneal neovascularization after photodynamic therapy in rabbits

Intravitreal Bevacizumab with or without Triamcinolone for Wet Age-related Macular Degeneration: Twelve-month Results of a Prospective, Randomized Investigation

PURPOSE:

The purpose of this study is to compare the long-term outcomes of intravitreal bevacizumab (IVB) with a combination therapy including IVB/intravitreal triamcinolone acetonide (IVB/IVTA) in neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

This prospective, randomized clinical trial was conducted on 136 eyes of 136 patients with neovascular AMD. Eyes were randomly assigned to receive IVB alone (71 eyes) or in combination with IVTA (65 eyes). In the IVB group, three consecutive injections of 1.25 mg/0.05 ml of bevacizumab were administered 1 month apart, whereas in the IVB/IVTA group, 4 mg/0.05 mL of triamcinolone acetonide was added to bevacizumab in the first injection. Additional IVB injections were administered in eyes demonstrating active choroidal neovascularization. Best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and optical coherence tomography were performed at baseline as well as at all follow-up visits.

RESULTS:

No differences were seen between the patients receiving IVB and those receiving IVB/IVTA in terms of baseline BCVA (P = 0.97) and baseline central macular thickness (CMT) (P = 0.77). BCVA improved, and CMT reduced significantly in both study arms at almost all follow-up intervals. IVB/IVTA intervention, compared with IVB, was statistically more effective in improving BCVA (P = 0.01) and in reducing CMT (P = 0.02) after 12 months. The average number of reinjections was 1.25 ± 0.92 in the IVB group and 1.06 ± 1.01 in the IVB/IVTA group (P = 0.44).

CONCLUSION:

Our results suggest that the synergistic effect of intravitreal triamcinolone and IVB for treatment of neovascular AMD shows itself most apparently after 8 months of follow-up.

Attenuation of corneal neovascularization by topical low-molecular-weight heparin-taurocholate 7 without bleeding complication

AIM

To investigate the antiangiogenic effects and safety of topically administered low-molecular-weight heparin-taurocholate 7 (LHT7) on corneal neovascularization (CoNV).

METHODS

Twenty-four Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly distributed into four groups of six rats each. The central corneas were cauterized using a silver/potassium nitrate solution. From 2d after cauterization, 12.5 mg/mL (low LHT7 group) or 25 mg/mL (high LHT7 group) LHT7 was topically administered three times daily; 12.5 mg/mL bevacizumab was topically administered as positive control (bevacizumab) group, with normal saline (NS) administered as negative control (NS group). The corneas were digitally photographed to calculate the CoNV percentage from the neovascularized corneal area at 1 and 2wk.

RESULTS

The 4 study groups did not have different CoNV percentages at 1wk after injury (P>0.05). However, the low LHT, high LHT, and bevacizumab groups had significantly lower CoNV percentages than the NS group at 2wk (all P<0.05). No significant differences in CoNV percentage were found among the low LHT, high LHT, and bevacizumab groups (all P>0.05). All groups except the NS group had lower CoNV percentages at 2wk post-injury than the levels observed at 1wk (all P<0.05).

CONCLUSION

Topically-administered LHT7 inhibited CoNV without complication after chemical cauterization in the rat.