CHARACTERISTICS PREDICTIVE OF FELLOW-EYE GEOGRAPHIC ATROPHY WITHOUT NEOVASCULARIZATION IN UNILATERAL TYPE 3 MACULAR...

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Retinal Diseases
• Neovascularization

Background:

• Type 3 macular neovascularization (MNV) is a significant cause of vision loss.
• Understanding fellow-eye progression is crucial for timely intervention.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify predictive factors for fellow-eye geographic atrophy (GA) in patients with unilateral Type 3 MNV.
• To differentiate progression patterns towards GA versus MNV in the fellow eye.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective study of 84 patients with unilateral Type 3 MNV.
• Comparison of demographics and fellow-eye characteristics between patients who developed neovascularization versus GA.
• Multivariate analysis to assess the association of subfoveal choroidal thickness with GA risk.

Main Results:

• Patients progressing to GA were older (77.4 vs. 74.2 years) and had thinner subfoveal choroidal thickness (109.4 vs. 173.1 µm).
• Higher incidence of baseline GA was observed in the GA group (39.3% vs. 16.1%).
• Thin subfoveal choroidal thickness was negatively associated with the risk of GA (P = 0.004).

Conclusions:

• Older age, baseline GA, and thin fellow-eye choroid predict progression to GA in unilateral Type 3 MNV.
• These findings may identify patients suitable for future complement inhibitor therapies targeting GA.
• Early identification of fellow-eye GA risk is essential for management strategies.