Abstract
Purpose :
To investigate changes in the aqueous flare value (an indicator of inflammation) and aqueous humor levels of cytokines after intravitreal injection of anti- vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) agents, as well as the correlations among functional-morphological parameters, the aqueous flare value and aqueous humor levels of cytokines in patients with central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) and macular edema.
Methods :
In 32 patients with CRVO who received after intravitreal injection of anti-VEGF agents twice for macular edema at monthly intervals, aqueous humor samples were obtained during intravitreal injection of anti-VEGF agents. Levels of VEGF, placental growth factor (PlGF), soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1, monocyte chemotactic protein 1 (MCP-1), platelet-derived growth factor-AA (PDGF-AA), interleukin (IL)-6, and IL-8 were measured by the suspension array method. Aqueous flare values were measured with a laser flare meter and macular edema was examined by optical coherence tomography.
Results :
The aqueous flare value and aqueous humor levels of VEGF, PlGF, MCP-1, PDGF-AA, and IL-6 showed a significant decrease at 1 month after intravitreal injection of anti-VEGF agents compared with baseline (all P < 0.05). There were significant correlations between the aqueous flare and aqueous levels of VEGF, PlGF, MCP-1, PDGF-AA, IL-6, and IL-8 (all P < 0.05). There was a significant correlation between the change of the aqueous flare and improvement of macular edema (P < 0.05). There was also a significant correlation between the change of PlGF and improvement of macular edema (P < 0.05).
Conclusions :
These findings suggest that anti-VEGF agents reduce inflammation in CRVO patients with macular edema, and that the aqueous flare value and PlGF might be useful indicators of the response of macular edema.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2018 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Honolulu, Hawaii, April 29 - May 3, 2018.