1. Imaging Hyperreflective Foci as an Inflammatory Biomarker after Anti-VEGF Treatment in Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration Patients with Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography
- Author
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Fang Liu, Jingting Zhang, Qian Yang, Chaoyang Zhang, Kun Liu, Jing Wu, Dawei Luo, Jingfa Zhang, Hai Xie, and Qinghua Qiu
- Subjects
Male ,Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A ,0301 basic medicine ,medicine.medical_specialty ,genetic structures ,Article Subject ,Angiogenesis Inhibitors ,Inflammation ,Retina ,General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology ,Macular Degeneration ,03 medical and health sciences ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,0302 clinical medicine ,Ophthalmology ,medicine ,Humans ,Aged ,Retrospective Studies ,Aged, 80 and over ,General Immunology and Microbiology ,business.industry ,Angiography ,Parafovea ,Retinal Vessels ,Retinal ,General Medicine ,Optical coherence tomography angiography ,Middle Aged ,Macular degeneration ,medicine.disease ,eye diseases ,Hyperreflective foci ,030104 developmental biology ,medicine.anatomical_structure ,chemistry ,030221 ophthalmology & optometry ,Medicine ,Female ,sense organs ,medicine.symptom ,business ,Inflammatory biomarker ,Biomarkers ,Tomography, Optical Coherence ,Research Article - Abstract
Purpose. To investigate the hyperreflective foci (HRF) as an inflammatory biomarker using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) in neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD) patients after antivascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) treatment and its association with the retinal microcapillary density. Methods. Twenty-five eyes from 25 patients with neovascular AMD were included in the study. All eyes were imaged with OCTA at baseline (M0) and after 3 consecutive injections (M3; injection performed each month) of anti-VEGF. The number of HRF in the superficial capillary plexus (SCP), deep capillary plexus (DCP), and outer retina was counted. The vascular density of the fovea, parafovea, and the whole macula, as well as the area of the foveal avascular zone (FAZ), was measured. Results. The mean interval between baseline and follow-up with OCTA was 93.08 ± 5.00 (range, 85-101) days. Compared with the baseline, the number of HRF significantly decreased in DCP ( 7.52 ± 3.06 vs. 3.76 ± 1.48 , P < 0.01 ) and outer retina ( 12.04 ± 4.91 vs. 5.88 ± 3.32 , P < 0.01 ) after treatment. There was no significant difference for HRF number in the SCP, the vascular density (containing foveal, parafoveal, and whole macular), and FAZ area before and after treatments. Conclusion. The number of HRF in DCP and outer retina might serve as an inflammatory biomarker in patients with neovascular AMD. The reduced HRF possibly represents the alleviation of inflammation after anti-VEGF treatment in patients with AMD.
- Published
- 2021