Changes in inner retinal layer thickness in patients with exudative age-related macular degeneration during treatment with anti-vascular endothelial growth factor

Medicine (Baltimore). 2020 Apr;99(17):e19955. doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000019955.

Abstract

The aim of this study was to identify any changes that occur in the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) and ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer (GC-IPL) in patients with exudative age-related macular degeneration (AMD) during treatment with anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) injections.Patients were enrolled in this retrospective study if they had exudative AMD, had received at least 3 injections of ranibizumab or aflibercept, and had a minimum of 12 months of follow-up. We analyzed the changes in the RNFL and GC-IPL using spectral-domain optical coherence tomography in rescan mode.Fifty-two eyes of 52 patients who had been treated with repeated anti-VEGF injections for exudative AMD were included. At the final visit, there was no significant between-group difference in best-corrected visual acuity or intraocular pressure. There was a significant decrease in central macular thickness in all groups (P < .05). There was a decrease in RNFL thickness that was only statistically significant in the ranibizumab group and when the ranibizumab or aflibercept groups were combined (P = .036 and .044, respectively). The thickness of the GC-IPL layer was significantly decreased in the aflibercept and total group (P = .035 and P = .048, respectively).The thicknesses of the RNFL and GC-IPL decreased in patients with exudative AMD who underwent repeated anti-VEGF injections.

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Angiogenesis Inhibitors / pharmacology
  • Angiogenesis Inhibitors / therapeutic use
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Macular Degeneration / drug therapy*
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Ranibizumab / pharmacology
  • Ranibizumab / therapeutic use
  • Receptors, Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor / therapeutic use
  • Recombinant Fusion Proteins / pharmacology
  • Recombinant Fusion Proteins / therapeutic use
  • Retina / pathology*
  • Retina / physiopathology
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Statistics, Nonparametric
  • Vascular Endothelial Growth Factors / pharmacology
  • Vascular Endothelial Growth Factors / therapeutic use*
  • Weights and Measures*

Substances

  • Angiogenesis Inhibitors
  • Recombinant Fusion Proteins
  • Vascular Endothelial Growth Factors
  • aflibercept
  • Receptors, Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor
  • Ranibizumab