MULTIMODAL IMAGING CHARACTERISTICS AND FUNCTIONAL CORRELATES IN RIP HEALING.

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Retinal Imaging
• Macular Degeneration Research

Background:

• Retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) tears are a complication of neovascular age-related macular degeneration.
• Understanding the healing process and functional outcomes of RPE tears is crucial for patient management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To characterize the imaging and functional features of repair tissue following retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) tears.
• To evaluate the role of autofluorescence in assessing RPE tear healing.

Main Methods:

• Observational study of patients with RPE tears and ≥12 months follow-up.
• Analysis of best-corrected visual acuity, microperimetry, optical coherence tomography (OCT) findings (outer retinal layers, RPE resurfacing), fibrosis, and autofluorescence recovery (blue-light and near-infrared).

Main Results:

• 34 of 48 eyes showed signs of healing, with RPE resurfacing in 22 and fibrosis in 21.
• Autofluorescence improved in 17 eyes (blue-light) and 7 eyes (near-infrared).
• Outer retinal layers were better preserved with RPE resurfacing and autofluorescence improvement (P<0.05). Visual acuity correlated with smaller tear size (P=0.01), while retinal sensitivity improved with autofluorescence recovery (P<0.001) and absence of fibrosis (P=0.03).

Conclusions:

• Autofluorescence signal recovery after RPE tear indicates underlying RPE status and predicts better functional outcomes.
• Blue-light and particularly near-infrared autofluorescence are important tools for evaluating RPE tear healing.