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Vitreo-macular interface disorders in retinitis pigmentosa
Serena Fragiotta1, Tommaso Rossi2, Carmela Carnevale3
1Department of Medico-Surgical Sciences and Biotechnologies, U.O.C. Ophthalmology, Sapienza University of Rome, C.so Della Repubblica, 79, 04100, Latina, (LT), Italy. s.fragiotta@hotmail.it.
Vitreo-macular interface disorders (VMID) are common in retinitis pigmentosa (RP). While epiretinal membranes (ERMs) significantly decrease vision over time, other VMID subtypes in RP patients show stable visual acuity.
Area of Science:
- Ophthalmology
- Retinal Diseases
- Macular Disorders
Background:
- Vitreo-macular interface disorders (VMID) are increasingly recognized in retinitis pigmentosa (RP).
- Understanding the natural history of VMID phenotypes in RP is crucial for patient management.
- RP is a group of inherited retinal diseases leading to progressive vision loss.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the prevalence and progression of different vitreo-macular interface disorder (VMID) phenotypes in retinitis pigmentosa (RP).
- To analyze the natural history and visual acuity changes associated with VMID subtypes in RP patients.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective evaluation of 257 eyes from 145 RP patients with VMID.
- Classification of VMID into epiretinal membranes (ERMs), vitreo-macular traction (VMT), and macular hole (MH) subtypes.
- Analysis of serial spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) and best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) over a mean follow-up of 36.95 months.
Main Results:
- Epiretinal membranes (ERMs) were the most prevalent VMID (80.5%), followed by VMT (13.6%) and lamellar macular holes (LMH) (5.8%).
- Over 36.9 months, BCVA significantly decreased in ERM patients (-20.29%, p < 0.001), but remained stable in VMT and LMH groups.
- Foveal thickness remained stable across all VMID subgroups, and no full-thickness macular holes were observed.
Conclusions:
- Vitreo-macular interface disorders (VMID) are highly prevalent in retinitis pigmentosa (RP) patients.
- Epiretinal membranes (ERMs) are the primary VMID subtype associated with significant vision loss in RP over time.
- Macular alterations, beyond edema, are an integral part of the retinitis pigmentosa disease spectrum.
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