scholarly journals Treatment results of nondamaging retinal laser therapy in diabetic macular edema

2022 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 251584142110632
Author(s):  
Burcu P. Gültekin

Background: Subthreshold nondamaging retinal laser therapy (NRT) provides a greater safety profile than conventional laser methods, but more data is needed on the efficacy and safety of subthreshold NRT in diabetic macular edema. Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of NRT for the treatment of clinically significant macular edema (CSME) that is partially responsive or resistant to intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) treatment. Methods: This was a retrospective case series study. Fifty eyes of 38 diabetic patients with CSME previously treated with at least 6-monthly intravitreal bevacizumab injections with/without intravitreal Ozurdex therapy were evaluated. The patients received 577-nm yellow wavelength laser therapy with PASCAL laser system (Topcon Medical Laser Systems, Santa Clara, CA, USA). Best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and central subfield thickness (CST) were evaluated before and 1, 3, 6, 12 and 24 months after laser treatment. Results: Baseline mean CST was 368.06 ± 86.9 µm. The mean CST values at the 1-, 3-, 6-, 12-, and 24-month visits were 336.93 ± 79.8, 352.40 ± 113.5, 336.36 ± 109.3, 325.10 ± 104 µm, and 310.08 ± 84.7 µm, respectively. The mean CST decreased significantly at the first ( p = 0.002) and second year visits ( p < 0.001) when compared with pretreatment values. Although visual acuity was improved at the first year compared with baseline, this difference was not statistically significant ( p = 0.03). There was no significant difference in visual acuities between pretreatment and posttreatment visits. During 24-month follow-up, while 37 eyes were treated with [mean: 5.7 ± 3.4 (1–14)] intravitreal anti-VEGF injections, 3 eyes were administered single-dose intravitreal steroids. Additional intravitreal injections were not required in 10 (20%) eyes. Conclusion: NRT is effective by itself or in combination with anti-VEGF agents in diabetic macular edema that is partially responsive or resistant to previous intravitreal injections. T role in treating this disorder should be assessed in more detail with prospective controlled studies.

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.


2013 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 78-84
Author(s):  
Vladimir Iosifovich Konenkov ◽  
Vadim Valerievich Klimontov ◽  
Valeriy Vyacheslavovich Chernykh ◽  
Nadezhda Viktorovna Tjan

Diabetic macular edema (DME) is a common complication associated with the loss of visual acuity in diabetic patients. Intravitreal injections of vascular endothelium growth factor (VEGF) inhibitors (anti-VEGF therapy) have been proposed recently as a new treatment option for patients with DME. In this review we summarized results of randomized clinical trials of VEGF inhibitors in DME patients. The results indicate that all studied inhibitors (ranibizumab, bevacizumab, pegaptanib and aflibersept) reduce the retinal thickness and improve of visual acuity in DME when are used as a monotherapy or in combination with the laser treatment. Optimal course duration and effectiveness predictors of anti-VEGF therapy in DME should be elucidate in the future studies.


2020 ◽  
pp. 112067212090203
Author(s):  
Adi Einan-Lifshitz ◽  
Nir Sorkin ◽  
Gill Smollan ◽  
Irit Barequet

Purpose: The purpose was to evaluate the change in the microbiological profile of diabetic patients undergoing intravitreal injections for diabetic macular edema. Methods: Patients were included in this prospective study when referred for the first time for intravitreal injection to treat diabetic macular edema. For each patient, conjunctival cultures were taken from the lower fornix of each eye prior to the povidone-iodine application and the intravitreal injection. An additional culture was taken from the treated eye 20 min after the injection. The same culture protocol was used for the two following injections of these patients. A later conjunctival culture was also taken a month after the last injection. Results: Twenty-one eyes of 21 patients were included. The mean duration of diabetes was 13.7 ± 7.9 years. Prior to the first intravitreal injection, 33% of cultures were positive. Prior to the third intravitreal injection, 26% of cultures were positive ( p = 0.63), and 1 month after the last injection, 18% of cultures were positive ( p = 0.495). The mean HbA1C was 8.1% ± 1.7%. HbA1C of patients with positive cultures was 8.0% ± 1.1% at the first intravitreal injection and 8.2% ± 1.0% at the third intravitreal injection. This was compared with HBA1C in eyes with negative cultures: 7.4% ± 1.2% ( p = 0.45) and 7.1% ± 1.0% ( p = 0.14), respectively. Conclusion: Repeated intravitreal injection for diabetic macular edema with application of povidone-iodine 5% in diabetic patients did not lead to a significant change in the percentage of positive conjunctival cultures. Patients with higher HbA1C had a slight, non-statistically significant trend for positive cultures.


2016 ◽  
Vol 30 (5) ◽  
pp. 534-540 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oluwaranti Akiyode ◽  
Jateh Major ◽  
Abiola Ojo

Aflibercept is the most recently approved vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) inhibitor for the management of diabetic macular edema and diabetic retinopathy. The purpose of this article is to review the efficacy and safety of aflibercept in the management of diabetic eye complications and to describe its place in therapy. Anti-VEGF agents have been noted in clinical trials to be superior to laser photocoagulation, the standard therapy ( P < .0001, P ≤ .0085, respectively). Aflibercept has been comparatively studied with other anti-VEGF agents, namely, bevacizumab and ranibizumab, and noted to be equally efficacious and safe in patients with mild visual acuity loss ( P > .50). However, in the treatment of patients with diabetic macular edema having moderate to severe visual acuity loss, aflibercept outperformed the other 2 anti-VEGF agents (aflibercept vs bevacizumab, P < .001; aflibercept vs ranibizumab, P = .003). However, additional studies are needed to fully appreciate the long-term safety and efficacy of aflibercept and the anti-VEGF therapy class.


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.


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 14 (6) ◽  
pp. 869-874
Author(s):  
Ying-Ying Yu ◽  
◽  
Li-Bin Chang ◽  
Hui-Ka Xia ◽  
Xiao-Xin Li ◽  
...  

AIM: To assess the efficacy of intravitreal triamcinolone (IVTA) as an adjunct to the combination of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) for the management of diabetic macular edema (DME). METHODS: A total of 51 patients with visual disabilities causing by DME from two sites were retrospectively collected and assigned to two groups according to the therapeutic method: intravitreal conbercept (IVC) combined with focal laser (24 eyes) and IVC combined with focal laser and IVTA (27 eyes). Best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), the required number of IVCs, central retinal thickness (CRT), the mean costs of treatment burden and safety were compared over 12mo. RESULTS: From baseline to month 1 through month 12, IVC combined with focal laser and IVTA improved the mean average change in BCVA superior to IVC combined with focal laser (+5.20 vs +2.71 letters). At month 12, 20.83% of the IVC combined with focal laser and 37.04% of IVC combined with focal laser and IVTA arms gained more than 10 BCVA letters. During the period, the mean CRT decreased significantly in the IVC combined with focal laser and IVTA arm (-245.9 μm) compared to the IVC combined with focal laser arm (-98.45 μm). The average of 6.45 and 1.25 conbercept injections performed in the IVC combined with focal laser and IVC combined with focal laser and IVTA arms, respectively. The mean cost of treatment burden for 12mo was $6247.44±4069.18 in the IVC combined with focal laser arm and $1679.19±542.73 in the IVC combined with focal laser and IVTA arm, with a statistically significant difference. Apart from occasional minor subconjunctival hemorrhage, no other significant ocular adverse events (AEs) were observed in either group during the12-month period. CONCLUSION: It is effective and cost-effective to treat DME by utilizing triamcinolone as an adjunct to the combination of anti-VEGF.


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 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  

Background: Macular edema, defined as retinal thickening within 2 disc diameters of the center of the macula, results from retinal microvascular changes that compromise the blood-retinal barrier, causing leakage of plasma constituents into the surrounding retina and, consequently, retinal edema. Focal edema is associated with hard exudate rings caused by leakage from micro aneurysms. Diffuse edema is caused by leakage from micro aneurysms, retinal capillaries, and arterioles. Avastin (Bevacizumab) is a recombinant humanized monoclonal IgG1 antibody that binds to and inhibits the biologic activity of human vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). It contains human framework regions and the complementaritydetermining regions of a murine antibody that binds to VEGF. Avastin produced in a Chinese Hamster Ovary mammalian cell expression system in a nutrient medium containing the antibiotic gentamicin and has a molecular weight of approximately 149 kilo Daltons. Purpose: To assess the anatomic effect and visual acuity response after intravitreal (Avastin) in patients with diffuse diabetic macular edema. Patients and Methods: This study included 15 eyes of15 Patients with stable diabetes mellitus with diffuse diabetic macular edema. All eyes had received some form of argon laser photocoagulation (pan retinal photocoagulation (PRP), Focal or Grid of duration not less than 6 months. Mean age of 59 years treated with two intravitreal injections of Avastin 1.25 mg in 0.05 ml six weeks apart. Patients were examined by experienced ophthalmologist visual acuity, evaluation of diabetic retinopathy, central macular thickness by optical coherence tomography each was evaluated at the begging of study (baseline) and follow-up visits. Results: 15 eyes of 15 diabetic patients with persistent diffuse macular edema with no improvement in visual acuity. All the patients received two injections of A vastin six weeks apart. No complications were observed in any patient. The mean baseline visual acuity was (log Mar=1.338±0.455) and the mean visual acuity at three months following the second intravitreal injection was (log Mar=1.094±0.254), the mean central macular thickness at baseline was 492 µm decreased to 369 µm at the end of three months. Conclusions: A vastin resulted in a significant decrease in macular thickness and improvement in visual acuity at three months after the second injection.


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