ObjectiveTo observe the changes in choroidal characteristics of polypoid choroidal vascular disease (PCV) eyes after intravitreal injection of anti-VEGF drugs, and to preliminarily evaluate its predictive effect on the response of PCV anti-VEGF drugs.MethodsA retrospective clinical study. From January 2015 to May 2020, 63 eyes (63 PCV patients) diagnosed in NanJing Medical University Eye Hospital were included in the study. There were 39 eyes (39 males) and 24 eyes (24 females); all were monocular, with the average age of 62.53±6.05 years old. All eyes were treated with intravitreal injection of ranibizumab, and those with poor response after treatment were treated with photodynamic therapy (PDT) combined with anti-VEGF drugs. Among the 63 eyes, 38 eyes did not respond or responded poorly after treatment, and 25 eyes responded well. Based on response results, patients were divided into the poor response group and the good response group. The confocal laser synchronous angiography system (HRA+OCT) enhanced depth scanning technology of Herdelberg (Germany) was used to measure the foveal choroid thickness (SFCT) and the choroidal large vessel thickness (LCVT). The choroidal hyperpermeability (CVH) was judged based on the ICGA inspection results. CVH: In the middle and late stages (10-15 min after indocyanine green injection), the choroid of the posterior pole can be seen with multifocal strong fluorescence with blurred edges. The SFCT and LVCT changes of the two groups of eyes before treatment and 6 months after treatment in the good response group, and 6 months after the treatment of the poor response group combined with PDT were observed. SFCT and LCVT were compared with t test before and after treatment.ResultsBefore treatment, of the 63 eyes, 38 eyes (60.3%) with CVH manifestations, of which 5 eyes (20.0%, 5/25) and 33 eyes (86.8%, 33/ 38). The SFCT and LCVT of the good response group and the poor response group were 244.16±23.74, 152.76±22.70 μm and 367.34±35.21, 271.84±35.42 μm, respectively. The comparison of SFCT and LVCT between the two groups of eyes before treatment showed statistically significant differences (t=7.24, 6.87; P=0.01, 0.01). Six months after treatment, the SFCT and LVCT of the eyes in the good response group were 241.04±32.56 and 150.44±23.45 μm, respectively; compared with those before treatment, the difference was not statistically significant (t=5.35, 8.64; P=0.08, 0.07). Six months after the poor response group combined with PDT treatment, SFCT and LCVT were 311.63±25.36 and 220.11±41.30 μm respectively; compared with those before treatment, the difference was statistically significant (t=6.84, 9.23; P=0.02, 0.01). After treatment, the CVH manifestations of all the eyes did not change significantly, but the eyes of the poor response group were treated with PDT, and the multifocal strong fluorescence was significantly weakened.ConclusionsPCV thick choroid is mostly caused by abnormal thickening of choroidal large vessels. Eyes with thick choroid and CVH have poor response to anti-VEGF drug therapy alone, and combined PDT therapy may be more suitable for this type of patients.
ObjectiveTo observe the clinical efficiency of intravitreal Conbercept on exudative age-related macular degeneration (eAMD). MethodsThis is an open and prospective study without control trial. Twenty eyes from 20 patients (19 males and 1 female) with eAMD diagnosed by fundus fluorescein angiography (FFA) and indocyanine green angiography (ICGA) were enrolled in this study. Before the injection, best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) of early treatment of diabetic retinopathy study (ETDRS), non-contact tonometer, ophthalmoscope, fundus photography, fundus fluorescein angiograph (FFA), indocyanine green angiography (ICGA) and optical coherence tomography (OCT) were examined. The initial average letters of ETDRS acuity were 41.20±22.61, range from 8 to 80. The initial average central retina thickness (CRT) was (345.25±131.96) μm, range from 152 to 770 μm.All affected eyes were treated with intravitreal conbercept 0.05 ml (10 mg/ml). The patients were followed up for 6 to 9 months, with the mean time of (7.35±0.99) months.The BCVA, CRT after treatment were compared with baseline using paired t-test. ResultsDuring the 1, 3, 6, 12 months after treatment and the latest follow up, the mean BCVA were all improved with statistically significant difference (t=5.85, 7.09, 7.44, 7.25; P < 0.05). At 1 month ater treatment, the mean BCVA was obviously improved in 6 eyes (30%), improved in 8 eyes (40%), stable in 6 eyes (30%). At latest follow up, the mean BCVA was obviously improved in 6 eyes (30%), improved in 9 eyes (45%), stable in 5 eyes (25%). During the 1, 3, 6, 12 months after treatment and the latest follow up, the mean CRT were all decreased with statistically significant difference (t=3.34, 3.78, 3.47, 3.44; P < 0.05). At latest follow up, the leakage in macula lutea disappeared in 6 eyes (30%), decreased in 11 eyes (55%) and increased in 3 eyes (15%). No adverse events such as secondary retinal detachment or endoophthalmitis were found during the follow-up duration. ConclusionIntravitreal conbercept is a safe and effective approach for eAMD, may improve visual acuity, exudation and macular edema.
Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of repeated intravitreal conbercept injection in patients with macular edema (ME) of retinal vein occlusion (RVO), guided by optic coherence tomography (OCT). Methods It is a retrospective case study. Forty patients (40 eyes) diagnosed as ME secondary to RVO were enrolled in this study. There were 19 males (19 eyes) and 21 females (21 eyes), with the mean age of (53.58±13.19) years and the mean course of 1.5 months. The best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), indirect ophthalmoscopy, fundus fluorescein angiography (FFA) and OCT were performed. The mean baseline of BCVA, central macular thickness (CMT) were 0.25±0.18 and (509.48±170.13) μm respectively. All the patients were treated with 10.00 mg/ml conbercept 0.05 ml (including conbercept 0.5 mg). Follow-up of these patients was 1 to 6 months after treatments, the BCVA, fundus manifestations, OCT were retrospectively observed by every month, the FFA was retrospectively observed by every 3 months. When there was retinal edema or CMT ≥50 μm by OCT during follow-up, those patients were retreated with intravitreal conbercept injection. The changes of the BCVA, CMT were evaluated before and after treatment. Meanwhile, complications in eyes related to medicine and treatment methods were evaluated too. Results At the 6 months, the BCVA was improved (increase≥2 lines) in 25 eyes (62.50%), stabilized (±1 line) in 13 eyes (32.50%) and decreased 2 lines in 2 eyes (5.00%). Retinal hemorrhage and exudates were absorbed in most patients. FFA showed no fluorescein leakage in 11 eyes (27.50%), minor fluorescein leakage in 26 eyes (65.00%), and retinal capillary non-perfusion in 3 eyes (7.50%). OCT showed absorption of the subretinal fluid. The mean CMT were (235.20±100.44) μm at 6 months. Intravitreal injection of conbercept was applied for 4 times in 8 eyes (20.00%), 3 times for 18 eyes (45.00%), and 2 times for 14 eyes (35.00%). The mean number of intravitreal injection was 2.85 times. There were no ocular or systemic adverse events observed in all patients. Conclusion Intravitreal conbercept injection is an efficacy and safe treatment for the patients with ME of RVO guided by OCT. It can stabilize and improve the visual acuity.
ObjectiveTo observe the efficacy and safety of intravitreal injection of conbercept in the treatment of proliferatived diabetic retinophathy (PDR) complicated with vitreous hemorrhage by minimally invasive vitreoretinal surgery.MethodsProspective clinical study. A total of 50 patients with PDR complicated with vitreous hemorrhage clinically diagnosed in Tianjin Medical University Eye Hospital who needed vitrectomy were recruited in this study. According to the principle of informed consent, the patients were divided into two groups: postoperative injection group and the control group. Twenty-five eyes of 25 patients in each group were examined before operation. No significant proliferative changes in the posterior pole and traction retinal detachment were observed. There was significant difference of age between two groups (t=－24.697, P=0.030), but no significant difference of sex (χ2=0.330, P=0.564), duration of diabetes (t=－1.144, P=0.258), logMAR BCVA (t=－0.148, P=0.883), lens state (χ2=0.397, P=0.529), panretinal laser photocoagulation (χ2=1.333, P=0.248). The postoperative injection group was treated with intravitreous injection of 0.05 ml conbercept (10 mg/ml) immediately after 27G minimally invasive vitrectomy. The other treatment and follow-up were the same as those in the postoperative injection group except for conbercept injection. All patients underwent routine slit-lamp examination, indirect ophthalmoscope and B-ultrasound examination before operation. The main outcome measure included the time of operation, the incidence rate of iatrogenic retinal holes and silicone oil filling. The recurrence of vitreous hemorrhage, BCVA, intraocular pressure, central retinal thickness (CRT), postoperative complications and progression were recorded 1 week, 1 month, 3 months and 6 months after operation.ResultsAt 1 week and 1, 3, 6 months after operation, there was significant difference of logMAR BCVA between the two groups (t=－4.980, －4.840, －4.892, －5.439; P<0.001). At 3 and 6 months after operation, the recurrence of vitreous hemorrhage in the postoperative injection group was lower than that in the control group, but there was no statistical difference between two groups (χ2=3.030, 4.153; P=0.192, 0.103). At 1 week and 1, 3, 6 months after operation, the CRT in the postoperative injection group was lower than that in the control group, the difference was significant (t=－2.622, －2.638, －3.613, －3.037; P=0.012, 0.010, 0.001, 0.004, 0.005). There was no complications such as choroid detachment, proliferative vitreoretinopathy, retinal detachment, iris redness and neovascular glaucoma in all the eyes after operation.ConclusionsIntravitreal injection of conbercept in the treatment of PDR after operation is safe and effective. It can reduce the recurrence of vitreous hemorrhage after vitrectomy, improve the BCVA.
Choroidal neovascularization (CNV) is the key characteristic of neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD), and the effective therapy is intravitreal injection of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) agents based on clinical and basic research. In the meantime the challenge is how to further improve the inhibiting effect for CNV and visual function of anti-VEGF treatment on nAMD. The new strategy and drug delivery devices for anti-VEGF treatment will optimize the clinical scheme. From bench to bedside, the research on targeted treatment of angiogenesis brings the bloom of nAMD medical therapy.
The therapeutic response of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) differs among individuals. According to the changes of central retinal thickness, intraretinal fluid, subretinal fluid, best corrected visual acuity and other morphological or functional manifestations after treatment, the performance of the treated eyes can be classified as optimal response, poor response and non-response. A variety of factors could account for poor or non-response to anti-VEGF, such as genomic polymorphism and specific genomic risk alleles, lesion characteristics, vitreous and macular structural abnormalities, resistance to anti-VEGF drug, and the role of pericytes and others. The common counter measures include increasing the dosage, shortening the injection interval and replacing with another alternative drug, inhibition of pericytes, relieving vitreomacular anatomical abnormalities. It is still worthy of further exploration that how to assess individual reasons for non-response, so that we can give proper treatment to reduce the excessive use of anti-VEGF drugs and improve the clinical management of ocular neovascularization diseases.
ObjectiveTo compare the one year efficacy of intravitreal injection with ranibizumb for macular edema (ME) secondary to ischemic and non-ischemic central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO).MethodsA total of 88 patients (88 eyes) with ME secondary to CRVO were enrolled in this retrospective study. The best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was detected by the Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study Chart. The optical coherence tomography was used to measure the foveal retinal thickness (CRT) and macular edema volume. The patients were divided into non-ischemic group and ischemic group, 44 eyes of 44 patients in each group. There was no significant differences in age (t=0.650, P=0.517) and gender (χ2=0.436, P=0.509) between the two groups. Compared with the ischemic group, the CRT was significantly decreased in the non-ischemic group (t=−2.291, P=0.024), and the edema volume in the macular area was significantly reduced (t=−2.342, P=0.022). All eyes were treated with continuous intravitreal injection of ranibizumab three times, and repeated injections were performed as needed. The patients without obvious ME regression after treatment were combined with triamcinolone acetonide injection. The patients with peripheral retinal non-perfusion area were combined with peripheral retinal laser photocoagulation. The follow-up was 1 year. The number of injections was counted. The changes of BCVA, CRT and edema volume in the macular area were compared between the two groups.ResultsDuring the 1-year follow-up period, 88 eyes were injected 1 to 10 times, with the mean of 4.51±2.33. The number of injections in the ischemic group and non-ischemic group were 4.55±1.59 and 4.48±2.91, respectively. There was no significant difference in the average number of injections between the two groups (t=0.136, P=0.892). The number of acetonide injections and laser treatment in the ischemic group was significantly higher than that in the non-ischemic group (t=3.729, 9.512; P＜0.001). At the last follow-up, compared with the ischemic group, the BCVA was increased (t=8.128), the CRT was decreased (t=−7.029) and the edema volume in the macular area was decreased (t=−7.213) in the non-ischemic group (P＜0.001).ConclusionCompared with ME secondary to ischemic CRVO, intravitreal injection of ranibizumab for ME secondary to non-ischemic CRVO has the better outcome of vision improvement and edema regression as well as less frequent of acetonide injections and laser treatment.
ObjectiveTo observe the efficacy and safety of vitrectomy combined with submacular injection of tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA), gas filling and anti-VEGF drugs (multiple therapy) for thick submacular hemorrhage.MethodsA retrospective case study. From January 2014 to June 2018, 24 patients (24 eyes) with thick submacular hemorrhage who received multiple therapy at the Department of Ophthalmology of Peking University Third Hospital were included in the study. Among them, there were 15 males and 9 females with the average age of 69.05±8.86 years. The average submacular bleeding time was 17.15±10.30 days, the average bleeding area was 13.85±8.63 DD. Seventeen eyes showed hemorrhagic RPE detachment. The international standard visual acuity chart was used to BCVA examination, which was converted to logMAR visual acuity in statistics. The frequency domain OCT was used to measure the height of the foveal elevation. The average logMAR BCVA of the affected eye was 1.37±0.38. The average height of the macular fovea was 824.94±294.38 μm. All eyes underwent 23G or 25G vitrectomy. During the operation, 0.1-0.5 ml t-PA (10 μg/0.1 ml) was injected under the macula. The vitreous cavity was filled with 15% C3F8 after gas-liquid exchange in 13 eyes, and 11 eyes were filled with sterilized air. Eleven eyes were injected with anti-VEGF drugs at the end of the operation, and anti-VEGF drugs were given PRN treatment according to the activity of the lesion. The average follow-up time after treatment was 27.90±22.21 months. The absorption of bleeding under the macula, the improvement of vision, the occurrence of rebleeding and treatment-related complications were observed and recorded. The Wilcoxon rank sum test was performed to compare the BCVA and the height of foveal elevation before and after treatment.ResultsOne month after the treatment, the blood in the fovea of all affected eyes was cleared. At the last follow-up, the logMAR BCVA and macular foveal elevation were 0.82±0.28 and 253.88±71.75 μm, respectively. Compared with those before treatment, the difference was statistically significant (Z=－3.727, －3.234; P＜0.001, ＜0.001). The average intravitreal injection of anti-VEGF drugs was 1.08 times. During the operation, a tiny hole was formed in the center of the macula when t-PA was injected under the retina. Two eyes showed mild vitreous hemorrhage early after the operation. During the follow-up period, bleeding recurred in 2 eyes.ConclusionsVitrectomy combined with submacular injection of t-PA, gas filling, and anti-VEGF drugs is an optimal combination for the treatment of thick submacular hemorrhage. It can effectively remove submacular hemorrhage, improve vision, reduce foveal elevation with good safety.
ObjectiveTo assess the efficacy and safety of intravitreal aflibercept injection (IAI) compared with photodynamic therapy (PDT) in the treatment of Chinese patients with predominantly classic subfoveal choroidal neovascularization (CNV) lesions secondary to neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD).MethodsA randomized, double-blind, multi-center phase-3 clinical trial lasting for 52 weeks (from December 2011 to August 2014). Subjects were randomized in a 3:1 ratio to either IAI group or PDT-to-IAI group. Subjects in the IAI group received 2 mg IAI at baseline and at week 4, 8, 16, 24, 32, 40, 48, with sham injection at week 28, 36. Subjects in the PDT-to-IAI group were forced to receive PDT once at baseline and more time at week 12, 24 if PDT retreatment conditions were met. Sham injections were given in PDT-to-IAI group at baseline and at week 4, 8, 16 and 24, followed by 2 mg IAI at week 28, 32, 36, 40, 48. The primary outcome of efficacy were the change in mean Best Corrected Visual Acuity (BCVA) from baseline to week 28, and that of week 52. Safety evaluation included the percentage of subjects who suffered treatment emergent adverse events (TEAEs).ResultsAmong the 304 subjects enrolled, there were 228 and 76 cases in IAI group and PDT-to-IAI group respectively. At week 28, the changes of mean BCVA in IAI group, PDT-to-IAI group compared to baseline were +14.0, +3.9 letters, respectively. At week 52, the changes of mean BCVA in two groups were +15.2, +8.9 letters respectively with the difference of +6.2 letters (95%CI 2.6−9.9, P=0.000 9). At week 52, the mean foveal retinal thickness in the two groups decreased by −189.6, −170.0 μm, respectively. Subjects with the most BCVA increase in IAI group were those aged ＜65, and those with active CNV lesion area ＜50% of total lesion area. The most common TEAEs in IAI group and PDT-to-IAI group are macular fibrosis [11.8% (27/228), 6.6% (5/76)] and BCVA decline [6.6% (15/228), 21.1% (16/76)]. There were 3 cases of arterial thromboembolic events defined in the antiplatelet experimental collaboration group, but all were considered unrelated to interventions.ConclusionsThe efficacy of aflibercept is superior to that of PDT in nAMD patients in China. The therapeutic effect of aflibercept persisted to week 52 in all subjects. The rate of adverse events was consistent with the safety data of aflibercept known before.
Wet age-related macular degeneration (wAMD) is caused by choroidal neovascularization (CNV), which occurs when the choroidal new capillaries reach the RPE layer and photoreceptor cell layer through the ruptured Bruch membrane, leading to neovascularization bleeding, leakage, and scarring. In view of the important role of VEGF in the development of CNV, targeted therapy with various intraocular anti-VEGF drugs is the first-line treatment for wAMD. However, the efficacy of anti-VEGF drugs in the treatment of wAMD is affected by a variety of factors, and some patients still have problems such as unresponsiveness, drug resistence, tachyphylaxis, long-term repeated injections, and severe adverse effects. It is the direction of future researches to deeply explore the physiological and pathological process of wAMD, find the cause of CNV formation, and seek better therapies.