Masaaki Saito1,2, Mariko Kano3, Kanako Itagaki3, Shigeyuki Ise3, Kimihiro Imaizumi3, Tetsuju Sekiryu3. 1. Department of Ophthalmology, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, Fukushima, Japan. masaaki@med.akita-u.ac.jp. 2. Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Akita University Graduate School of Medicine, 1-1-1 Hondo Akita, Akita, 010-8543, Japan. masaaki@med.akita-u.ac.jp. 3. Department of Ophthalmology, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, Fukushima, Japan.
Abstract
PURPOSE: To investigate the changes in subfoveal thickness after switching to intravitreal aflibercept injection for polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV). METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed 66 eyes of 65 PCV patients (mean age 75.7 years) which were refractory to ranibizumab. The choroidal thickness was measured by optical coherence tomography (OCT) using an enhanced depth imaging technique. Intravitreal aflibercept (2 mg/0.05 ml) was administered with three consecutive monthly injections as a loading dose, followed by further injections bimonthly (every two months). RESULTS: The mean subfoveal choroidal thickness significantly decreased from 203 μm at baseline to 171 μm at month 6 (P < 0.0001). The mean logMAR best-corrected visual acuity levels significantly improved from 0.40 at baseline to 0.33 at 6 months (P < 0.001). The central retinal thickness significantly decreased from 249 μm at baseline to 161 μm at 6 months (P < 0.0001). At month 6, 41 (62.1%) eyes had dry macula by OCT. Of 46 eyes with polypoidal lesions at baseline, complete regression of polypoidal lesions was achieved in 26 (56.5%) eyes at 3 months. CONCLUSIONS: The choroidal thickness in PCV eyes significantly decreased after switching to intravitreal aflibercept injection. Aflibercept may help prevent choroidal neovascularization near or under the retinal pigment epithelium, which might help achieve greater occlusion of polypoidal lesions compared with ranibizumab.
PURPOSE: To investigate the changes in subfoveal thickness after switching to intravitreal aflibercept injection for polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV). METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed 66 eyes of 65 PCV patients (mean age 75.7 years) which were refractory to ranibizumab. The choroidal thickness was measured by optical coherence tomography (OCT) using an enhanced depth imaging technique. Intravitreal aflibercept (2 mg/0.05 ml) was administered with three consecutive monthly injections as a loading dose, followed by further injections bimonthly (every two months). RESULTS: The mean subfoveal choroidal thickness significantly decreased from 203 μm at baseline to 171 μm at month 6 (P < 0.0001). The mean logMAR best-corrected visual acuity levels significantly improved from 0.40 at baseline to 0.33 at 6 months (P < 0.001). The central retinal thickness significantly decreased from 249 μm at baseline to 161 μm at 6 months (P < 0.0001). At month 6, 41 (62.1%) eyes had dry macula by OCT. Of 46 eyes with polypoidal lesions at baseline, complete regression of polypoidal lesions was achieved in 26 (56.5%) eyes at 3 months. CONCLUSIONS: The choroidal thickness in PCV eyes significantly decreased after switching to intravitreal aflibercept injection. Aflibercept may help prevent choroidal neovascularization near or under the retinal pigment epithelium, which might help achieve greater occlusion of polypoidal lesions compared with ranibizumab.
Authors: David M Brown; Peter K Kaiser; Mark Michels; Gisele Soubrane; Jeffrey S Heier; Robert Y Kim; Judy P Sy; Susan Schneider Journal: N Engl J Med Date: 2006-10-05 Impact factor: 91.245
Authors: Jeffrey S Heier; David M Brown; Victor Chong; Jean-Francois Korobelnik; Peter K Kaiser; Quan Dong Nguyen; Bernd Kirchhof; Allen Ho; Yuichiro Ogura; George D Yancopoulos; Neil Stahl; Robert Vitti; Alyson J Berliner; Yuhwen Soo; Majid Anderesi; Georg Groetzbach; Bernd Sommerauer; Rupert Sandbrink; Christian Simader; Ursula Schmidt-Erfurth Journal: Ophthalmology Date: 2012-10-17 Impact factor: 12.079