ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Although anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) therapy is the first choice of treatment for eyes with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD), it sometimes results in retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) tears. This study presents the detailed clinical characteristics of RPE tears to help predict their occurrence before anti-VEGF therapy initiation. METHODS: This study retrospectively analyzed neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) patients who visited the Kyushu University Hospital and started anti-VEGF therapy between April 2013 and June 2020. Using medical records, we collected the clinical data of patients with RPE tears, including age, sex, best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), number of anti-VEGF drug injections and the type and size of pigment epithelial detachment (PED). RESULTS: RPE tears occurred in 16 (1.50%) eyes of 16 patients in all 1068 nAMD eyes of 987 patients. The mean age of these patients with RPE tear was 81.7 ± 8.7 years. Fifteen eyes had typical AMD and one eye had polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy. The mean number of anti-VEGF drug injections before RPE tears was 5.0 ± 5.1. All patients experienced PED before the RPE tear (hemorrhagic, 4 eyes; serous vascular, 2 eyes; fibrovascular, 10 eyes). The average PED height and area were 615.7 ± 175.3 µm and 21.0 ± 7.2 mm2, respectively. The sub-RPE cleft was observed in 10 eyes. The logMAR BCVA immediately after the RPE tear (0.73 ± 0.40) at 6 months (0.86 ± 0.51) and 12 months (0.84 ± 0.43) after the RPE tear were significantly worse than that before the RPE tear (0.58 ± 0.31; p < 0.05). The BCVA of patients with RPE tears that spread to the fovea was poorer than that of patients without RPE tears. CONCLUSIONS: In patients with nAMD, RPE tears tended to occur in typical AMD eyes with high or large PEDs, and sub-RPE clefts. The visual prognosis depended on whether the RPE tear included the fovea.
ABSTRACT
The aim of this paper was to report the cases of 3 consecutive patients with mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase inhibitor (MEKi)-associated retinopathy with characteristic multiple serous retinal detachments (SRDs). A functional analysis of the retinal pigment epithelium was performed in 2 patients by electro-oculography (EOG). In all 3 patients, SRD lesions were observed in the posterior pole including the fovea of both eyes. Interestingly, neither obvious leakage in fluorescein/indocyanine angiography nor abnormal fundus autofluorescence was associated. SRDs and associated cystoid macular edema in one case rapidly resolved with the cessation of MEKi but recurred quickly after treatment resumption. In EOG tests, three of four eyes with multiple SRDs showed a marked decrease in the light-peak-to-dark-trough ratio (LP:DT ratio). The LP:DT ratio in EOG reflects the transepithelial potential of the retinal pigment epithelium, suggesting the involvement of disrupted tight junctions and impaired active transport of fluid/ions in MEKi-associated retinopathy. The latter may be the major cause of SRDs as we observed that fluid leakage in angiography was absent in the areas of the patients' SRDs.
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: To demonstrate the spatial pattern of retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) tear development and progression following anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) therapy for neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD). METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed six eyes with nAMD that showed RPE tears after administration of intravitreal anti-VEGF agents and were followed up for 12 months. The patterns of RPE tear development and progression were evaluated by analyzing positional relationships among the locations of the choroidal neovascularization membrane (CNVM) and pigment epithelial detachment (PED) area at baseline and the tear area via spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT), color photography, fluorescein angiography, and fundus autofluorescence images. RESULTS: Pre-tear OCT images revealed fibrovascular PED in all eyes, one of which showed complications of hemorrhagic PED after treatment. In five eyes, RPE tears developed at the PED edge located on the opposite side of the CNVM. In the eye showing hemorrhagic PED, the RPE tear developed along the wide area of the PED edge. The torn RPE monolayer contracted toward the side of the CNVM in all eyes and RPE loss involved the fovea in five eyes that showed significantly worse visual acuity (VA) after 12 months in comparison with the baseline value before the tear (logMAR VA; 0.3 vs. 1.29; P < 0.02). CONCLUSION: The location of CNVM in PED determines the spatial pattern of RPE tear development and progression and helps to predict the visual outcome after RPE tears.
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: Although vitrectomy has been reported to be effective for the treatment of macular retinoschisis associated with glaucoma in a few case series, the surgical techniques have yet to be established. This article aimed to describe the cases of two patients with macular retinoschisis who underwent vitrectomy with peripapillary internal limiting membrane peeling around the defective area of the retinal nerve fiber layer. OBSERVATIONS: Both patients had been diagnosed with normal tension glaucoma and treated with eye drops to stabilize intraocular pressure. Progression of macular retinoschisis and accompanied vision loss were observed in both cases. Twelve months after the surgery, both patients had resolution of the retinoschisis and improvement in best corrected visual acuity. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPORTANCE: Our surgical technique may be effective for the resolution of macular retinoschisis in eyes with normal tension glaucoma.
