Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 7, 2026
A Custom Multiphoton Microscopy Platform for Live Imaging of Mouse Cornea and Conjunctiva
Published on: May 17, 2020
ANGIOGRAPHIC SUBTYPES OF POLYPOIDAL CHOROIDAL VASCULOPATHY IN TAIWAN: A Prospective Multicenter Study
Ling Yeung1,2, Chien-Neng Kuo2,3, An-Ning Chao2,4
1Department of Ophthalmology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Keelung, Taiwan.
Purpose:
To determine the incidence and clinical characteristics of angiographic subtypes of polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV).
Methods:
It is a prospective, multicenter, cross-sectional study. Patients with newly diagnosed exudative macular degeneration are classified into PCV, age-related macular degeneration (AMD), and retinal angiomatous proliferation. Polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy is further classified into two subtypes depending on the presence (Type 1: polypoidal choroidal neovascularization) or absence (Type 2: typical PCV) of feeder vessels on indocyanine green angiography.
Results:
We enrolled 169 patients: 76 (45%) with PCV, 75 (44.4%) with AMD, and 14 (8.3%) with retinal angiomatous proliferation. Of the patients with PCV, 20 (26%) were classified as Type 1 PCV and 56 (74%) were classified as Type 2 PCV. The Type 1 PCV had a similar mean age compared to the AMD group (73.1 ± 9.6 vs. 75.6 ± 8.8 years, P = 0.281) and the Type 2 PCV (68.8 ± 9.6 years) was younger than the AMD group (P < 0.001). Type 1 PCV presented with worse visual acuity compared with the AMD. Both PCV subtypes had a higher incidence of hemorrhagic complications (85% and 75% respectively).
Conclusion:
Type 2 PCV is more common than Type 1 PCV in Taiwan. Our results support the hypothesis that polypoidal choroidal neovascularization and typical PCV may be distinct entities.
