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Updated: Sep 27, 2025
Regenerative Therapy by Suprachoroidal Cell Autograft in Dry Age-related Macular Degeneration: Preliminary In Vivo Report
Published on: February 12, 2018
Macular atrophy at 5 years after photodynamic therapy for polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy
Kentaro Kawai1, Manabu Miyata2, Sotaro Ooto1
1Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan.
Purpose:
To investigate predictors for macular atrophy (MA) involving the fovea after photodynamic therapy (PDT) followed by pro re nata (PRN) treatment for polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV).
Methods:
This prospective observational study analysed treatment-naïve eyes with symptomatic PCV without MA at baseline which were followed up for 5 years. All eyes were initially treated with PDT, followed by a PRN regimen of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) therapy and/or PDT. We assigned eyes with and eyes without development of MA involving the fovea 5 years after the initial treatment into MA and non-MA groups, respectively. Baseline parameters and the number of treatments were compared between the two groups.
Results:
Seventy-two eyes of 69 consecutive patients were included, and 29 eyes of 29 patients were analysed. Twelve (41%) and 17 (59%) eyes were assigned into the MA and non-MA groups, respectively. There were significant differences in subfoveal choroidal thickness (226.2 ± 47.8 μm vs. 278.8 ± 68.1 μm, P = 0.03) and number of anti-VEGF injections (13.7 ± 9.6 vs. 5.4 ± 5.6, P = 0.007) between the MA and non-MA groups, but not in the number of PDT sessions (P = 0.71). Best-corrected visual acuity at 5 years in the MA group was lower than in the non-MA group (P = 0.048).
Conclusion:
Our long-term observation suggests that a thin subfoveal choroid at baseline and many followed anti-VEGF injections in a PRN regimen increase the risk for development of MA involving the fovea 5 years after PDT.
