Abstract
Abstract: :
Purpose: To report on the initial results of a prospective randomized study on the use of intravitreal injection of triamcinolone acetonide as treatment of progressive exudative age-related macular degeneration. Methods: The study included 21 patients presenting with progressive exudative age-related macular degeneration with occult subfoveal neovascularization as shown on fluorescein angiograms. The study group was randomized in a therapeutic group including 9 patients receiving a single intravitreal injection of 25 mg of triamcinolone acetonide, and a control group consisting of 12 patients who did not receive any treatment. Study group and control group did not vary significantly in age (79.3 +/- 6.7 years versus 79.1 +/- 6.2 years; p=0.86) and pre-study visual acuity (0.22 +/- 0.11 versus 0.31 +/- 0.14; p=0.15). Mean follow-up time was 1.1 +/- 0.4 months for the first follow-up examination and 2.0 +/- 0.5 months for the second follow-up examination. Results:. Two months after baseline of the study, mean visual acuity increased in the treated group by 0.04 +/- 0.06. In the same follow-up period, mean visual acuity decreased in the control group by 0.10 +/- 0.22 . The differences between the treated group and the control group were statistically not significant (p>0.05). Conclusions: From a safety monitoring point of view, the preliminary data of this ongoing prospective randomized study do suggest to further continue with a larger number of patients observed for a longer follow-up period.
Keywords: age-related macular degeneration • retinal pigment epithelium • intraocular pressure