scholarly journals Behavior of SD-OCT Detectable Hyperreflective Foci in Diabetic Macular Edema Patients after Therapy with Anti-VEGF Agents and Dexamethasone Implants

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Anne Rübsam ◽  
Laura Wernecke ◽  
Saskia Rau ◽  
Dominika Pohlmann ◽  
Bert Müller ◽  
...  

Purpose. Diabetic macular edema (DME) is the most common cause of blindness in the working-age population. Spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) allows detection and monitoring of the edema and a detailed analysis of the retinal structure. Hyperreflective foci (HF) are small, circumscribed lesions on OCT, and their origin is yet to be determined. Our study was aimed to shed light on HF pathophysiology, by analyzing their number and location in DME patients at baseline and after therapy. Methods. A prospective, observational study on 59 eyes of 51 DME patients who were treated with antivascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) therapy (VEGF group, n = 40 eyes) or dexamethasone implant (DEX group, n = 19 ). HF and hard exudates (HE) were discriminated by their appearance on fundus photographs and their size on OCT. Quantity and location of HF and HE were analyzed at baseline and after therapy. Results. DME decreased in 75% of patients in the VEGF (455.5 μm vs. 380.8 μm, p = 0.02 ) and in 95% of patients in the DEX group (471.6 μm vs. 381.9 μm, p = 0.007 ). The number of foci decreased in 62.5% of patients after anti-VEGF (130.6 vs. 111.1, p = 0.07 ) and in 68% of patients after dexamethasone injection ((123.4 vs. 94.9, p = 0.02 ) 5.1). A subgroup of 15% of eyes, all treated with anti-VEGF, showed accumulation of larger HF in outer retinal layers to visible HE during DME resolution, whereas smaller HF, found in all retinal layers, remained unchanged. There was a trend towards a dynamic shift of the foci from inner to outer retinal layers. Conclusion. The dynamic rearrangement of the small HF and their slightly greater reduction after anti-inflammatory therapy suggest inflammatory cells as their origin, whereas larger HF in the outer retinal layers correspond to microexudates. Furthermore, we found a more favourable outcome in patients with HF after treatment with dexamethasone implants compared to anti-VEGF agents.

2012 ◽  
Vol 53 (9) ◽  
pp. 5814 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carsten Framme ◽  
Paul Schweizer ◽  
Manfred Imesch ◽  
Sebastian Wolf ◽  
Ute Wolf-Schnurrbusch

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomoaki Murakami ◽  
Nagahisa Yoshimura

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) has enabled objective measurement of the total retinal thickness in diabetic macular edema (DME). The central retinal thickness is correlated modestly with visual impairment and changes paradoxically after treatments compared to the visual acuity. This suggests the clinical relevance of the central retinal thickness in DME and the presence of other factors that affect visual disturbance. Recent advances in spectral-domain (SD) OCT have provided better delineation of the structural changes and fine lesions in the individual retinal layers. Cystoid spaces in the inner nuclear layer and outer plexiform layer are related to quantitative and qualitative parameters in fluorescein angiography. OCT often shows vitreoretinal interface abnormalities in eyes with sponge-like retinal swelling. Serous retinal detachment is sometimes accompanied by hyperreflective foci in the subretinal fluid, which exacerbates the pathogenesis at the interface of the photoreceptors and retinal pigment epithelium. Photoreceptor damage at the fovea is thought to be represented by disruption of the external limiting membrane or the junction between the inner and outer segment lines and is correlated with visual impairment. Hyperreflective foci in the outer retinal layers on SD-OCT images, another marker of visual disturbance, are associated with foveal photoreceptor damage.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. e0206482 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vivian Schreur ◽  
Lebriz Altay ◽  
Freekje van Asten ◽  
Joannes M. M. Groenewoud ◽  
Sascha Fauser ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
pp. 112067212110261
Author(s):  
Sandeep Saxena ◽  
Carsten H Meyer ◽  
Levent Akduman

The external limiting membrane (ELM) and ellipsoid zone (EZ) can be observed exquisitely by SD-OCT. In diabetic macular edema (DME), dysfunction of mitochondria, represented by the EZ in the foveal photoreceptors results in reduced visual acuity (VA). An increase in VEGF was found to correlate with increased severity of DR, increased central subfield thickness (CST), and sequential disruption of ELM and EZ. The mechanism of ELM and EZ restoration after anti-VEGF therapy in DME has been discovered. The ELM restores first followed by EZ restoration. Thus, authors have discovered and established ELM as a novel retinal structural barrier.


2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 51-57
Author(s):  
Defayudina Dafilianty Rosataria ◽  
Ramzi Amin

ABSTRACT Introduction : In general, diabetic retinopathy is classified into early stage, namely non proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR), and advanced stage, proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR). Diabetic macular edema is the most common cause of visual impairment in cases of early stage or NPDR. Purpose : To describe Diabetic Macular Edema (DME) with intravitreal injection of anti-VEGF as a treatment. Case report : 43 old female, came with chief complaint of blurred vision on her right eye since six months ago. Blurring is felt slowly. Patient has a history of uncontrolled diabetes since 10 years and a history of hypercholesterolemia since 1 year ago. visual acuity of the right eye is 4/60. On posterior segment examination, neovascularization of the papilla was found. Decreased foveal reflex (+), hard exudates (+) within 500 µm from the central macula. Microaneurism (+), dot hemorrhage (+), blot (+) in 4 quadrants, hard exudates (+) in 2 quadrants in her right eye. The patient was planned for intravitreal injection of anti-VEGF on her right eye. Conclusion : Intravitreal injection of anti-VEGF can improve visual acuity and reduce exudate and hemorrhage in retina from ophthalmoscope and fundus photography examination. In addition, the investigation with OCT was found to improve with reduced macular thickness.  


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shiyue Qin ◽  
Chaoyang Zhang ◽  
Haifeng Qin ◽  
Hai Xie ◽  
Dawei Luo ◽  
...  

Purpose: The aim was to investigate the effect and underlying mechanism of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) in diabetic macular edema (DME) by optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA).Methods: Twenty-five eyes in 18 treatment-naïve patients with DME were included. All eyes were imaged by OCTA at baseline and 1 week after monthly intravitreal aflibercept injection (IAI). Visual acuity was measured as best corrected visual acuity (BCVA). Additional parameters were evaluated by OCTA, including central macular thickness (CMT), the number of hyperreflective foci (HRF), foveal avascular zone (FAZ), vessel density (VD) in the deep capillary plexus (DCP), the en-face area of cystoid edema in DCP segmentation, and subretinal fluid (SRF) height.Results: The mean time between baseline and final follow-up by OCTA was 79.24 ± 38.15 (range, 28–163) days. Compared with baseline, BCVA was increased significantly after the 3rd IAI, while CMT was decreased significantly from the 1st IAI. SRF height and the area of cystoid edema in DCP segmentation were decreased significantly after the 2nd IAI compared with baseline. The number of HRF was decreased significantly after the 1st IAI (8.87 ± 9.38) compared with baseline (11.22 ± 10.63). However, FAZ’s area and perimeter as well as VD in DCP showed no significant changes post-treatment.Conclusion: Anti-VEGF is effective in treating DME, improving visual acuity and decreasing macular edema. The decreased HRF indicates anti-inflammatory effects of aflibercept to deactivate retinal microglia/macrophages. The decreased cystoid edema and SRF height indicated improved drainage function of Müller glial cells and retinal pigment epithelium after IAI.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 150
Author(s):  
Syntia Nusanti ◽  
Kirana Sampurna ◽  
Ari Djatikusumo ◽  
Anggun Rama Yudantha ◽  
Joedo Prihartono

Introduction :  Diabetic Retinopathy (DR) is one of the major cause of visual acuity deterioration in diabetic patients. The loss of central visual acuity in diabetic patients are mainly due to macula edema, which is found in 29% diabetic patients with the over 20 years duration of disease. The aim of this study is to evaluate and investigate the possible correlation among changes of visual acuity (VA), central macular thickness (CMT) using Spectral Domain Optical Coherence Tomography (SD-OCT). Electrophysiological responses using multifocal electroretinography (MfERG) in diabetic macular edema (DME) following intravitreal injection of bevacizumab. Methods: Single arm clinical trial. Thirty-three eyes of 33 DME patients (16 non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy and 17 non-high-risk proliferative diabetic retinopathy), receives intravitreal bevacizumab 1,25mg. All patients underwent complete ophthalmic examination including ETDRS VA testing, Sixty-one scaled hexagon MfERG and SD-OCT scan at baseline, 1-week and 1-month post-injection. Components of the first order kernel (N1, N2 and P1) in central 2o were measured. Result : MfERG showed reduced P1 amplitude (P<0.05) at 1-week after injection followed by increased P1 amplitude (P>0.05) at 1-month after treatment as compared to the baseline in all subjects. There was 19% improvement CMT and 0.2Logmar VA improvement in 1-month post-injection compared to the baseline (P<005). This study showed no serious ocular adverse effects. There was no significant correlation between changes in visual acuity with changes in CMT or other MfERG parameters. Conclusion: Intravitreal injection bevacizumab resulting in improved VA, reduction in CMT and mild improvement in the MfERG responses. Although VA changes did not correlate with reduced CMT nor with improved responses of MfERG, the combined use of SD-OCT and MfERG may be used to evaluate macular function in DME patient with worsened visual acuity post anti-VEGF injection.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Min Li ◽  
Jing Li ◽  
Kaichuan Chen ◽  
Jia Wang ◽  
Minjie Sheng ◽  
...  

Background. To evaluate the correlations between the inflammatory factors in the aqueous humor and hyperreflective foci (HRF) in patients with intractable macular edema treated with antivascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF). Methods. This study included 17 patients with intractable macular edema (ME) treated with anti-VEGF agents. Inflammatory factors in the aqueous humor were measured by the Cytometric Beads Array before injection, and the numbers of HRF pre- and post-anti-VEGF treatment were counted from four different directions (90 degrees, 45 degrees, 180 degrees, and 135 degrees) in the SD-OCT images, respectively, before treatment and one month after treatment. The correlations between inflammatory factors and the numbers of HRF were assessed. Results. The numbers of HRF were reduced significantly after anti-VEGF treatment. The change in the HRFs at the 90-degree location was significantly positively correlated with IL-8 and VCAM-1. The change of all HRFs was significantly positively correlated with IL-8. The HRFs before the treatment also had a positive correlation with IL-8 and VCAM-1. Conclusion. After anti-VEGF treatment, the numbers of HRF in intractable ME declined greatly. The higher the levels of IL-8 and VCAM-1 before treatment, the more significant the reduction of HRF after anti-VEGF treatment, which indicated that HRF could be an effective noninvasive imaging indicator for evaluating the effect of anti-VEGF on intractable macular edema. The OCT images at the 90-degree location could better show the inflammatory reaction of patients and also had better clinical significance for the prognosis evaluation of ME associated with inflammation.


Diabetic macular edema (DME) is a common complication of diabetic retinopathy (DR) and is a leading cause of vision loss in developed countries during the working age. Understanding the role of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in the pathogenesis of DME has emphasized the importance of using anti-VEGF agents in treatment. Anti-VEGF drugs such as pegaptanib, ranibizumab, bevacizumab, and aflibercept have been studied in the treatment of DME. Aflibercept is a recombinant fusion protein with an inhibitory effect on VEGF-A, VEGF-B, placental growth factor (PIGF) 1 and 2. It is believed that this agent has a longer duration of action than other anti-VEGF molecules due to its high-affinity binding to the VEGF molecule. This review summarizes the pharmacological properties of aflibercept in terms of clinical efficacy, use, and tolerability in the treatment of DME.


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