scholarly journals Switch to Aflibercept in Diabetic Macular Edema Patients Unresponsive to Previous Anti-VEGF Therapy

2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Filipe Mira ◽  
Manuel Paulo ◽  
Filipe Henriques ◽  
João Figueira

Purpose. The aim was to evaluate the efficacy of aflibercept in patients with diabetic macular edema (DME) unresponsive to prior anti-VEGF therapy. Methods. Retrospective review of DME unresponsive to previous anti-VEGF switched to aflibercept with 3 months of follow-up. Changes in best correct visual acuity (BCVA), central retinal thickness (CRT), and frequency of injections were analyzed. The percentage of subjects who had ≥20/40 (logMAR equivalent 0.3) and ≤20/200 (logMAR equivalent 1) was evaluated. Results. A total of 32 eyes from 26 patients were included. Mean age was 65 ± 10 years old. The mean number of previous anti-VEGF injections was 5.34 ± 2.38, and the mean number of aflibercept injections at the end of the study was 2.00 ± 0.00. The CRT at baseline was 501.47 ± 150.51 μm and 367.97 ± 124.61 μm at 3 months of follow-up (P<0.001). The logMAR BCVA at baseline was 0.71 ± 0.36 and 0.65 ± 0.33 at the end of the follow-up (P=0.037). At baseline, 12.5% of patients had ≥20/40 compared with 25% at the end of follow-up. At baseline, 28.13% of patients had 20/200 or inferior vision compared with 15.63% at the end of the follow-up. Conclusions. DME patients unresponsive to previous multiple ranibizumab injections demonstrate a significant anatomical and functional improvement with the switch to aflibercept.

2016 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 210-214 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriel Katz ◽  
Elad Moisseiev ◽  
Dafna Goldenberg ◽  
Joseph Moisseiev ◽  
Yosef Lomnicky ◽  
...  

Purpose To evaluate the efficacy of switching from bevacizumab to ranibizumab in patients with diabetic macular edema (DME). Methods This was a retrospective study of patients with DME initially treated with bevacizumab and switched to ranibizumab. Visual acuity (VA) and central retinal thickness (CRT) were retrieved at fixed timepoints prior to and after the switch. Results Forty eyes of 32 patients were included in the study. The difference in VA between any of these fixed timepoints was not statistically significant. A significant gain in VA was found in eyes that lost more than 0.1 logMAR during treatment with the last 3 bevacizumab injections. The mean CRT was significantly lower after the first 3 ranibizumab injections and at the final follow-up (p<0.001), a 67 ± 14 μm and 78 ± 18 μm reduction in thickness, respectively. Conclusions Switching to ranibizumab resulted in a significant decrease in the CRT of eyes with DME, and should be considered when there is a lack of response or deterioration while on bevacizumab injections. A significant gain in VA was observed in a subgroup of eyes that lost more than one line while receiving the last 3 bevacizumab injections prior to the switch.


2020 ◽  
Vol 161 (49) ◽  
pp. 2078-2085
Author(s):  
Mónika Ecsedy ◽  
Illés Kovács ◽  
Róbert Gergely ◽  
Katalin Gombos ◽  
Judit Meisel ◽  
...  

Összefoglaló. Bevezetés és célkitűzés: A Navilas® 577s mikropulzuslézerrel végzett kezelés biztonságosságának és hatásosságának vizsgálata diabeteses maculaoedemában. Módszer: Retrospektív vizsgálatunkba diabeteses maculaoedema miatt gondozott és legalább 6 hónapos utánkövetéssel rendelkező, korábban Navilas® 577s mikropulzuslézer-kezelésen átesett 28 beteg 46 szemét válogattuk be. Minden szemen optikaikoherencia-tomográfia (OCT) vastagsági térkép navigált, nonkontakt, küszöb alatti mikropulzuslézer-kezelés történt egy alkalommal. A kezelést megelőzően és az azt követő 6. hónapban rögzítettük a látóélesség, a centrális retinavastagság értékeit és az éreredetű endothelialis növekedési faktort (VEGF) gátló injekciók számát. A követési idő végén megvizsgáltuk a szemfenéki képnek a digitális fundusfotográfia és az átmetszeti OCT-képek segítségével észlelhető változásait. Eredmények: A vizsgált szemek közül 30 esetben a lézerkezelést korábbi centrális maculaoedema miatt VEGF-gátló injekciós kezelés előzte meg, míg 16 szem esetében primer lézerkezelés történt. A Navilas® 577s mikropulzuslézer-kezelést követően 6 hónappal sem a látóélesség, sem a centrális maculavastagság nem változott szignifikánsan egyik csoportban sem (p>0,05). Ugyanakkor a korábban injekciós kezelésben részesült szemek esetében a lézerkezelést megelőző 6 hónapban adott injekciók száma az átlagos 2,63 ± 1,18 értékről átlagosan 0,5 ± 0,73 értékre csökkent (p<0,001). A fundusfotókon és az átmetszeti OCT-scaneken a lézerkezelést követően egyetlen szem esetében sem találtunk látható pigmentelváltozásokat vagy hegesedést. Következetetés: Megfigyeléseink szerint a Navilas® 577s mikropulzuslézer-kezelés biztonságos a diabeteses maculaoedemás betegek kezelésében, továbbá a VEGF-gátlóval kezelt szemeken szerepet játszhat az injekciók számának csökkentésében. Orv Hetil. 2020; 161(49): 2078–2085. Summary. Introduction and objective: To assess the safety and efficacy of Navilas® 577s micropulse subthreshold laser in the treatment of non-center involved diabetic macular edema. Method: In this retrospective study, we included 46 eyes of 28 patients with diabetic macular edema, who were treated at least 6 months ago with Navilas® 577s micropulse laser. Laser treatment was navigated by optical coherence tomography (OCT) macular thickness map in subthreshold micropulse mode at one occasion. Data from visual acuity testing, retinal thickness, and the number of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) injections needed 6 months before and after treatment were registered. At the end of the follow-up, digital fundus photography and OCT radial scans were performed to evaluate any possible anatomical changes. Results: 30 eyes had previous anti-VEGF treatment for central macular edema, and in 16 eyes we performed the laser as primary treatment. At the end of the follow-up, no significant visual acuity or central retinal thickness change were observed (p>0.05). On the other hand, in the anti-VEGF pretreated group the number of injections decreased significantly from 2.63 ± 1.18 to 0.5 ± 0.73 (p<0.001). We did not find any pigmentary changes or visible signs of scaring on final fundus photography pictures or OCT radial scans. Conclusion: Navilas® 577s subthreshold microsecond laser proved to be a safe option in the treatment of diabetic macular edema. It can be very useful in anti-VEGF treated eyes by decreasing the number of injections needed. Orv Hetil. 2020; 161(49): 2078–2085.


2021 ◽  
pp. 112067212110576
Author(s):  
Irini Chatziralli ◽  
Eleni Dimitriou ◽  
Alexandros Chatzirallis ◽  
Evaggelia Aissopou ◽  
Dimitrios Kazantzis ◽  
...  

Purpose To investigate the adjunct efficacy and safety of vitamin supplements, including resveratrol, in patients with diabetic macular edema (DME) treated with intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial factor (anti-VEGF) agents. Methods Participants in this prospective study were 45 patients with DME, who were treated with either intravitreal anti-VEGF injections (n = 23, Group I) or with combination of intravitreal anti-VEGF injections and vitamin supplements, including resveratrol (n = 22, Group II). All patients underwent visual acuity measurement, slit-lamp examination and spectral domain-optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) at baseline and monthly after the loading phase of three-monthly anti-VEGF injections, following a PRN protocol. Results There was a statistically significant improvement in visual acuity in both groups at month 12 compared to baseline, although the mean change in visual acuity did not differ between the two groups (p = 0.183). Accordingly, there was a statistically significant decrease in central retinal thickness in both groups at month 12 compared to baseline, while the mean difference in central retinal thickness was significantly greater in the “combination” group. The mean number of intravitreal anti-VEGF injection was less in Group II (6.45 ± 1.12 in Group II vs. 7.39 ± 1.31 in Group I, p = 0.018). Conclusions Vitamin supplements with resveratrol was found to be an effective adjunct to intravitreal anti-VEGF injections in patients with DME, offering better anatomic restoration with less injections at the 12-month follow-up.


Author(s):  
Carlos E. Veloso ◽  
Daniel N. Brocchi ◽  
Rishi P. Singh ◽  
Márcio B. Nehemy

Abstract Background The purpose of this study was to evaluate the incidence of vitreomacular adhesion (VMA) release after anti-VEGF therapy for the treatment of diabetic macular edema (DME) and to evaluate further changes in outcome. Methods This was a retrospective study that enrolled 66 eyes of 66 patients with DME who presented with VMA diagnosed by spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (OCT) at baseline. VMA was classified as focal (attachment: ≤ 1500 μm) or broad (attachment: > 1500 μm). All patients received at least three monthly intravitreal injections of an anti-VEGF agent. Follow-up visits were performed 1 month after each injection to evaluate the incidence of VMA release. Results The mean patient age was 61.4 years (range: 29 to 78 years), and 72.7 % were male. The mean best-corrected visual acuity was 0.62 logMAR, and the mean central retinal thickness (CRT) was 473 μm at baseline. The mean length of follow-up was 18.5 months, and the mean number of injections was 5.8. The intravitreal drugs used were aflibercept (40.9 %), ranibizumab (37.9 %) and bevacizumab (21.2 %). Forty-seven eyes had broad VMA, and 19 had focal VMA. Twenty-two eyes (33.3 %) developed VMA release following a mean of 5.7 injections (range: 3–13). Sixteen eyes (72.7 %) with focal VMA and 6 eyes (27.3 %) with broad VMA at baseline developed VMA release. Twenty-one eyes that developed VMA release showed an improvement in CRT following VMA release (mean: -106 μm; range: 22 to 289 μm). Conclusions VMA release occurs in approximately 1/3 of patients with DME following anti-VEGF therapy. Most of them show a short-term decrease in CRT.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 15-22
Author(s):  
S. Ramin ◽  
M. Ahadi ◽  
A. Ebrahimi

The purpose of this study was to investigate the therapeutic effects of 670 nm irradiation in patients with diabetic macular edema. In several studies, positive effects of red/near-infrared irradiation showed in a range of ocular diseases such as macular degeneration, macular edema, and retinitis pigmentosa. This study was conducted on forty five eyes of 26 diabetic patients with macular edema between the ages of 51 and 80.Measurement of visual acuity and slit lamp examination, funduscopy, and optical coherence tomography were performed in all subjects. None of the patients had proliferative retinopathy. We used a portable LED device (Warp 10, Quantum Devices) for treatment. Patients held this device at a distance of 3 cm from their eyes for 240 seconds for three months. Full ophthalmic examinations were repeated 1, 2, and 3 months after treatment.After 3 months, the mean visual acuity improved from 0.44 ± 0.38 log MAR to 0.27 ± 0.24 log MAR and vision increased by 1.52 ± 1.16 lines post treatment (р<0.001). The mean central macula thickness decreased from 381.49 ± 144.40 μm to 359.72 ± 128.84 μm (р=0.050). In patients with mild and moderate nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy, the mean central retinal thickness decreased 52.06 ± 67.78 μm and 39.27 ± 44.69 μm, respectively, but patients with severe type showed an increase of 34.93 ± 65.65 μm in the mean central retinal thickness (р<0.001). Also, the severity of macular edema had no effect on final outcomes (р>0.05). Photobiomodulation can positively affect diabetic macular edema, especially in patients with mild to moderate diabetic retinopathy.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nardine Sharef ◽  
Rabea Kassem ◽  
Idan Hecht ◽  
Asaf Bar ◽  
Idit Maharshak ◽  
...  

Introduction: We have recently shown that defects in interdigitation and ellipsoid zones (IZ and EZ) can predict response to anti-VEGF therapy in a small group of treatment-naïve diabetic macular edema (DME) patients. The aim of the current study is to further evaluate this association in a larger study group of patients over a longer follow-up time. Methods: Thirty eyes of 30 treatment-naïve DME patients were analyzed in this retrospective study. The integrity of foveal IZ and EZ was evaluated using OCT at the diagnosis of DME and following anti-VEGF injections. The defect size was correlated with best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and central macular thickness (CMT). Results: The mean patients' age at baseline was 63.0±10.0 years. Patients underwent 3.9±2.9 anti-VEGF injections for a mean of 9.1±4.8 months. Following treatment, the mean Snellen visual acuity improved from 20/52 to 20/44 (p=0.05), CMT decreased from 432.5±141.4 m to 375.2±121.4 µm (p=0.05) and IZ/EZ defect size decreased from 259.83±375.94 µm to 65.34±143.97 µm (p=0.001). In patients with no IZ/EZ defects at baseline the mean Snellen visual acuity was better when compared to those with IZ/EZ defects (20/36 vs. 20/70, p=0.031). The number of eyes with IZ/EZ defects decreased from 17 (57%) at baseline to 6 (20%) at end of follow-up (p<0.01). BCVA gain correlated with IZ/EZ defect size reduction (r=0.41, p=0.02) but not with improvement in CMT (r=0.28, p=0.121). Conclusions: IZ/EZ defect size correlated not only with baseline BCVA, but also predicted the change in BCVA after anti-VEGF treatment. Possible future automatic measurement of IZ/EZ defect size might prove helpful for evaluation of treatment response.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 1024
Author(s):  
Timothy Y. Y. Lai ◽  
Ricky Y. K. Lai

Previous studies based on clinical trial data have demonstrated that greater fluctuations in retinal thickness during the course of intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) therapy for neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) is associated with poorer visual acuity outcomes. However, it was unclear whether similar findings would be observed in real-world clinical settings. This study aimed to evaluate the association between retinal thickness variability and visual outcomes in eyes receiving anti-VEGF therapy for nAMD using pro re nata treatment regimen. A total of 64 eyes which received intravitreal anti-VEGF therapy (bevacizumab, ranibizumab or aflibercept) for the treatment of nAMD were evaluated. Variability in spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (OCT) central subfield thickness (CST) was calculated from the standard deviation (SD) values of all follow-up visits after three loading doses from month 3 to month 24. Eyes were divided into quartiles based on the OCT CST variability values and the mean best-corrected visual acuity values at 2 years were compared. At baseline, the mean ± SD logMAR visual acuity and CST were 0.59 ± 0.39 and 364 ± 113 µm, respectively. A significant correlation was found between CST variability and visual acuity at 2 years (Spearman’s ρ = 0.54, p < 0.0001), indicating that eyes with lower CST variability had better visual acuity at 2 years. Eyes with the least CST variability were associated with the highest mean visual acuity improvement at 2 years (quartile 1: +9.7 letters, quartile 2: +1.1 letters, quartile 3: −2.5 letters, quartile 4: −9.5 letters; p = 0.018). No significant difference in the number of anti-VEGF injections was found between the four CST variability quartile groups (p = 0.21). These findings showed that eyes undergoing anti-VEGF therapy for nAMD with more stable OCT CST variability during the follow-up period were associated with better visual outcomes. Clinicians should consider adopting treatment strategies to reduce CST variability during the treatment course for nAMD.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 416-422
Author(s):  
Yong Cheng ◽  
◽  
Ming-Wei Zhao ◽  
Tong Qian ◽  
◽  
...  

AIM: To evaluate the two-year outcomes of patients treated for diabetic macular edema (DME) with intravitreal Conbercept (IVC). METHODS: The clinical data of 30 DME patients (36 eyes) were retrospectively reviewed. The patients were treated with IVC for 3mo. Additional IVC was given at subsequent monthly visits, if needed (3+PRN). The patients were followed up for 24mo. RESULTS: The best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) at 24mo significantly increased (66.7±15.3 letters) in comparison with the baseline (54.4±15.4 letters, P<0.0001). The mean improvement in BCVA was 11.0±2.9 letters. At 24mo, 44.1% of the eyes surveyed gained ≥15 letters, 52.9% of the eyes gained ≥10 letters, and 70.6% of the eyes gained ≥5 letters. No vision loss was noted in 96.8% of the eyes, and 5.9% of the eyes lost ≥5 letters, but ≤10 letters. The central retinal thickness (CRT) at 24mo was significantly reduced (277.1±122.9 μm) in comparison with the baseline (510.9±186.1 μm, P<0.0001). At 24mo, 43.3% of the patients had a CRT ≤250 μm. The mean number of injections over 24mo was 10.6±2.0. No severe eye or systemic adverse events related to either the drug or injection were noted. CONCLUSION: IVC is safe and effective for the treatment of DME.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurent Kodjikian ◽  
David Bellocq ◽  
Thibaud Mathis

Objectives of the Study. Summary of observational studies concerning the pharmacological management of diabetic macular edema (DME). Methods. A literature review was conducted using the PubMed database on 1 February 2018 to identify studies evaluating the efficacy of anti-VEGF and dexamethasone (DEX) implants for DME. Studies with more than 10 patients and follow-up of more than 6 months were selected. Analyses were carried out on the overall population and on subgroups defined according to baseline visual acuity (BVA) and the patients’ naïve or non-naïve status. Results. Thirty-two studies evaluating the efficacy of anti-VEGF and 31 studies evaluating the efficacy of DEX-implants were retained, concerning 6,842 and 1,703 eyes, respectively. A mean gain of +4.7 letters for a mean of 5.8 injections (mean follow-up: 15.6 months) and +9.6 letters for a mean of 1.6 injections (10.3 months) was found in the anti-VEGF and DEX-implant studies, respectively. Final VA appears to be similar for both treatment (62 letters for anti-VEGF, 61.2 letters for DEX-implant), and BVA appears lower for DEX-implant, which may partially explain the greater visual gain. The DEX-implant studies show greater gains in VA compared to the anti-VEGF studies, especially for higher BVA. Indeed, mean gains for the subgroups of patients with BVA<50 letters, 50<BVA<60 letters, and BVA>60 letters are +4.3, +5.8, and +3.1 letters, respectively, in the anti-VEGF studies and +10.5, +9.3, and +8.8 letters, respectively, in the DEX-implant studies. Regarding the patient’s initial status, only naïve status appears to confer the best functional response in DEX-implant studies. Conclusion. Observational studies investigating DEX-implant report clinically similar final VA when compared to anti-VEGF, but superior visual gains in real-life practice. This latter difference could be due to the better BVA, but also to the fact that less injections were administered in the anti-VEGF observational studies than in the interventional studies.


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