Pulsatile Ocular Blood Flow of Choroidal Neovascularization in Asymmetric Age-related Macular Degeneration After Transpupillary Thermotherapy

Abstract

Abstract: : Purpose: Previous study had shown that the pulsatile ocularblood flow (POBF) in eyes with asymmetric age-related maculardegeneration was different. While eyes with drusen had higherPOBF than their fellow eyes with disciform scar, the POBF ofeyes with drusen were lower comparing to their fellow eyes withchoroidal neovascularization (CNV). This study was designedto see if the POBF of eyes with CNV changed after transpupillarythermotherapy (TTT) in comparison to their fellow eyes of drusenor scar.Methods: Twenty-seven patients with asymmetric exudativeAMD were enrolled in this prospective case observation study.Among them, 18 of the 29 patients with CNV in one eye and drusenor scar in the other were treated with TTT in the eyes withCNV. Nine patients with drusen in one eye and scar in the felloweye were also followed for comparison. Monthly POBF were measuredin both eyes of each subject for 6 months.Results: After TTT,the POBF of eyes with CNV gradually decreased at 2 months offollow up but increased thereafter when comparing to their felloweyes with drusen or scar. The difference of POBF in patientswith drusen in one eye and scar the other maintained stabilizedthrough the follow up period.Conclusion: This finding suggeststhat hemodynamic differences between fellow eyes in individualswith CNV are variable in short time period after TTT intervention.POBF may be used as a modality to monitor the therapeutic effectof CNV in asymmetric exudative age-related macular degeneration. CNV with TTT (18cases)  

Eyes with drusen and scar (9cases) 

Keywords: 308 age-related macular degeneration • 346 choroid: neovascularization • 331 blood supply