April 2009
Volume 50, Issue 13
Free
ARVO Annual Meeting Abstract  |   April 2009
Alteration of the Blood-Retinal Barrier Identified by Retinal Leakage Analysis Is a Predictor for Conversion to Wet Age-Related Macular Degeneration
A. R. Santos; R. Bernardes; R. Silva; S. Nunes; P. Fonseca; S. Carvajal-Gonzalez; R. Buggage; J. Cunha-Vaz
Author Affiliations & Notes
  • A. R. Santos
    Association for Innovation and Biomedical Research on Light and Image (AIBILI), Coimbra, Portugal
  • R. Bernardes
    Association for Innovation and Biomedical Research on Light and Image (AIBILI), Coimbra, Portugal
    Institute of Biophysics and Biomathematics,
    Institute of Biomedical Research on Light and Image (IBILI), Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
  • R. Silva
    Association for Innovation and Biomedical Research on Light and Image (AIBILI), Coimbra, Portugal
    Coimbra University Hospital, Coimbra, Portugal
  • S. Nunes
    Association for Innovation and Biomedical Research on Light and Image (AIBILI), Coimbra, Portugal
  • P. Fonseca
    Association for Innovation and Biomedical Research on Light and Image (AIBILI), Coimbra, Portugal
    Coimbra University Hospital, Coimbra, Portugal
  • S. Carvajal-Gonzalez
    Pfizer, Inc., Groton, Connecticut
  • R. Buggage
    Pfizer, Inc., Groton, Connecticut
  • J. Cunha-Vaz
    Association for Innovation and Biomedical Research on Light and Image (AIBILI), Coimbra, Portugal
    Center of Ophthalmology,
    Institute of Biomedical Research on Light and Image (IBILI), Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
  • Footnotes
    Commercial Relationships  A.R. Santos, None; R. Bernardes, None; R. Silva, None; S. Nunes, None; P. Fonseca, None; S. Carvajal-Gonzalez, Pfizer, Inc., E; R. Buggage, Pfizer, Inc., E; J. Cunha-Vaz, Zeiss, C; Allergan, C; Eli-Lilly, C; Merck, C; Pfizer, C; Servier, C.
  • Footnotes
    Support  Pfizer, Inc.
Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science April 2009, Vol.50, 3920. doi:
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      A. R. Santos, R. Bernardes, R. Silva, S. Nunes, P. Fonseca, S. Carvajal-Gonzalez, R. Buggage, J. Cunha-Vaz; Alteration of the Blood-Retinal Barrier Identified by Retinal Leakage Analysis Is a Predictor for Conversion to Wet Age-Related Macular Degeneration. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. 2009;50(13):3920.

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Abstract

Purpose: : To identify in a two-year longitudinal and observational study the occurrence of alterations of the Blood-Retinal Barrier (BRB), and their relation with the development of choroidal neovascularization (CNV) lesions.

Methods: : Sixty-two patients with unilateral CNV and dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in the study eye have been followed in a two-year prospective, observational, longitudinal study. Examinations were performed at baseline and every 6 months thereafter. To characterize and identify CNV development we performed best corrected ETDRS visual acuity, OCT, fluorescein (SLO.FA) and indocyanine green angiography, fundus photography, fundus autofluorescence imaging and Retinal Leakage Analyzer (RLA) using methods and proprietary software (Bernardes, IEEE-TBME, 2005). The observations made in the study eyes that did develop CNV during the follow-up are reported.

Results: : Fifty-two patients completed the study according the protocol. Seventeen developed CNV in the fellow eye during this period. Alterations in the SLO.FA were used to identify conversion to wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD). RLA failed to process in 3 eyes but demonstrated the presence of varying degrees of alteration of BRB in every one of the remaining 14 eyes that converted to wet AMD. There were alterations of the BRB in 11 eyes at every visit before the conversion visit and in the other 3 in the visit before conversion.

Conclusions: : Fellow eyes of patients with wet AMD in the other eye that developed CNV during a two-year prospective study showed consistently alterations of BRB, identified by RLA Analysis, before conversion. Alterations of BRB appear to predict development of CNV.

Clinical Trial: : www.clinicaltrials.gov NCT00801541

Keywords: age-related macular degeneration • choroid: neovascularization • imaging methods (CT, FA, ICG, MRI, OCT, RTA, SLO, ultrasound) 
© 2009, The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, Inc., all rights reserved. Permission to republish any abstract or part of an abstract in any form must be obtained in writing from the ARVO Office prior to publication.
Copyright © 2025 Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology.
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