Abstract
Purpose: :
The purpose of this present study was to investigate the changes in fundus autofluorescence (FAF) after treatments for polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV).
Methods: :
This study involved 37 treatment-naïve eyes of 36 patients (11 females and 25 males, mean age: 74.5 years) with PCV. For treatment, all 37 eyes underwent intravitreal injections of ranibizumab, photodynamic therapy with verteporfin, or the combination of both therapies. FAF photography (excitation wavelength: 560 nm, barrier wavelength: 655 nm) and indocyanine green angiography (ICGA) were performed at baseline and at 1 year after the initial treatment. The changes in FAF at the neovascular lesions were retrospectively evaluated in comparison to those in the ICGA images.
Results: :
At baseline, 75 (79.8%) of total 94 polypoidal lesions seen on ICGA demonstrated confluent hypoautofluorescence. Of the 75 confluent hypoautofluorescent areas at the polypoidal lesions, 64 (85.3%) were clearly demarcated with a circumferential hyperautofluorescent ring. One year after the initial treatment, ICGA revealed the resolution of 44 (46.8%) of the 94 polypoidal lesions, however, the confluent hypoautofluorescence persisted in spite of the resolution of the polypoidal lesions. Thirty-eight (59.4%) of the 64 hyperautofluorescent rings seen at baseline disappeared post-treatment in conjunction with the resolution of polypoidal lesions, whereas 26 rings (40.6%) remained with no resolution of the polypoidal lesions. Granular hypoautofluorescence, which was consisitently seen at the branching choroidal vascular networks, persisted in all 37 eyes.
Conclusions: :
The findings of this study show that the disappearance of hyperautofluorescent rings is specifically associated with the resolution of polypoidal lesions following treatments for PCV. FAF photography is likely to become an additional noninvasive method used to assess the treatment responses in PCV cases.
Keywords: age-related macular degeneration • imaging/image analysis: clinical