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Updated: Aug 19, 2026
Regenerative Therapy by Suprachoroidal Cell Autograft in Dry Age-related Macular Degeneration: Preliminary In Vivo Report
Published on: February 12, 2018
Closure of persistent macular holes with human recombinant transforming growth factor-beta 2
1Vancouver Hospital/University of British Columbia Eye Care Centre.
Objective:
To evaluate the efficacy of human recombinant transforming growth factor-beta 2 (TGF-beta 2) in the closure of persistent macular holes.
Setting:
Retina service at a university-affiliated hospital in Vancouver.
Patients:
Seventeen patients with macular holes who had previously undergone vitrectomy, posterior cortical vitreous removal and prolonged gas tamponade, with failure to close the hole.
Interventions:
Treatment with TGF-beta 2 followed by gas tamponade.
Outcome Measure:
Closure of macular hole (defined as complete absence of the surrounding neurosensory detachment).
Results:
Of the 17 holes 16 (94%) were closed. The average improvement in Snellen acuity was 1.76 lines; nine patients (53%) had at least two lines of improvement. The patients who gained two or more lines of acuity following surgery with TGF-beta 2 had lost significantly more lines of acuity with the primary procedure (p = 0.008) and had worse Snellen acuity following the primary procedure (p = 0.0004) than the patients who gained one line or less of acuity following surgery with TGF-beta 2. Among the patients with a final visual acuity of 20/80 or better the average duration of the hole from the onset of symptoms to the second procedure was 22.2 months.
Conclusions:
Treatment with TGF-beta 2 is a potentially useful adjuvant in the closure of persistent macular holes following failed primary surgery.
