Variable response of vascularized pigment epithelial detachments to ranibizumab based on lesion subtypes, including...

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prognosis and response to intravitreal ranibizumab (IVR) of neovascular age-related macular degeneration, according to the type of pigment epithelial detachment (PED).

The authors prospectively studied 57 eyes of 57 consecutive patients with PED associated with exudative age-related macular degeneration, who were treated by IVR. All patients received 3 consecutive monthly injections of 0.5 mg/0.05 mL of ranibizumab as induction treatment. Retreatment was allowed if evidence of clinical deterioration was noted or spectral domain optical coherence tomography at the 1-month follow-up showed intraretinal edema, subretinal fluid, or recurrent PED. The best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) values measured before and at 3, 6, and 12 months after the first injection were compared according to the type of PED. Changes in the height of PED to treatment with IVR were also investigated.

Fifty-six eyes were assessed at the 12-month follow-up examination. There were 4 types of PED, including serous PED in 11 patients (19.6%), fibrovascular PED in 28 patients (50.0%), mixed PED with serous and fibrovascular component in 7 patients (12.5%), and hemorrhagic PED in 10 patients (17.9%). Eyes with serous PED showed significant improvement of the mean logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (logMAR) BCVA as compared with the value at the baseline, which was sustained throughout the 12-month period (P < 0.05). Regarding the eyes with fibrovascular and mixed PED, significant improvement of the mean logMAR BCVA was observed compared with the value at the baseline at 3 months; however, a slight decrease was observed at 6 and 12 months. In the eyes with hemorrhagic PED, no significant difference in the mean BCVA values compared with the value at the baseline was observed at any follow-up time point. In relation to the height of the PED, all eyes in the serous and mixed PED group, 17 eyes in the fibrovascular PED group (60.7%), and 9 eyes in the hemorrhagic PED group (90.0%) showed reduction of the maximum PED height by 100 μm or more. The PED response to IVR was not correlated with the final BCVA.

Intravitreal ranibizumab for the treatment of exudative age-related macular degeneration is effective for stabilizing vision in patients with PED, but it may be better tolerated in patients with serous PED. Although it may be important to consider the type of PED to predict the visual acuity in patients treated by IVR, the anatomical response of the PED may not correlate directly with the visual outcome.