Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 16, 2026
Retinal Pigment Epithelium Transplantation in a Non-human Primate Model for Degenerative Retinal Diseases
Published on: June 14, 2021
EVALUATION OF FOVEAL HYPOPLASIA IN CHILDREN WITH A HISTORY OF RETINOPATHY OF PREMATURITY
Gökhan Çelik1, Bilge Batu Oto2, Osman Kizilay1
1Department of Ophthalmology, ROP Screening, Treatment and Training Center, Zeynep Kamil Maternity and Children's Disease Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey.
Insights
Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) treatment may impact foveal development, leading to more severe foveal hypoplasia (FH) in treated eyes compared to those with spontaneous regression. However, visual acuity is generally unaffected by mild FH.
Area of Science:
- Ophthalmology
- Developmental Biology
Background:
- Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a leading cause of vision impairment in premature infants.
- Foveal development is crucial for sharp, central vision.
- Understanding factors affecting foveal development in ROP is essential for optimizing patient outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate foveal development in patients with retinopathy of prematurity (ROP).
- To determine if ROP treatment affects foveal development and its severity.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional study comparing foveal development in treated ROP eyes versus eyes with spontaneous regression.
- Analysis included gestational age, birth weight, ROP stage/zone, and postmenstrual age at treatment.
- Visual acuity was assessed based on foveal hypoplasia (FH) severity.
Main Results:
- Foveal development differed significantly between treatment and spontaneous regression groups, with more severe FH in treated eyes.
- Normal foveal development was more prevalent in the spontaneous regression group.
- Gestational age, treatment timing, ROP stage, and zone correlated with FH severity.
Conclusions:
- Early foveal development is not significantly disrupted in ROP patients, and mild FH does not cause significant visual disturbance.
- ROP treatments (laser photocoagulation, anti-VEGF) are associated with more severe foveal hypoplasia than spontaneous regression.
Purpose:
To evaluate the foveal development in patients diagnosed with retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) and to evaluate whether foveal development was affected by treatment in ROP patients.
Methods:
This cross-sectional study included patients with a history of ROP. Foveal development was compared between eyes with spontaneous regression and treated eyes. In addition, gestational age, birth weight, ROP zone and stage, and postmenstrual gestational age at the time of treatment were evaluated. The final visual acuity was analyzed according to the foveal hypoplasia (FH) severity.
Results:
This study included 166 eyes from 83 patients. Foveal development was significantly different among the treatment and spontaneous regression groups, and FH was more severe in the treatment group. The prevalence of normal foveal development was higher in the spontaneous regression group than in the treatment groups. This suggests that ROP treatment may induce morphological alterations during foveal development. Gestational age, postmenstrual age at the time of treatment, ROP stage, and ROP zone correlated with FH severity. Visual acuity was not affected by mild FH, and 88.5% of the patients had a visual acuity of logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (logMAR) 0.
Conclusion:
Early stage foveal development is not significantly disrupted in patients with ROP, and patients with ROP show no significant visual disturbance associated with FH. However, eyes treated for ROP either with laser photocoagulation or intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor demonstrated more severe hypoplasia compared with that with spontaneous regression.
