Abstract
Purpose :
To investigate the aqueous humor levels of angiogenic and inflammatory cytokines in eyes with rebound macular edema after intravitreal conbercept (IVC) for the treatment of macular edema secondary to central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO).
Methods :
We performed a retrospective study of 61 eyes of 61 consecutive treatment-naive patients with macular edema secondary to CRVO between July 2016 and January 2018 at the Department of Ophthalmology in the First Hospital of China Medical University. Monthly doses of IVC were administered for 3 months, following by a PRN dosing regimen. A rebound of macular edema was defined as a >110% increase in the foveal thickness comparing with the baseline. Aqueous humor samples were taken each time injections were performed. Multiplex bead assays were used for measurement of 7 growth factors and cytokines in aqueous humor samples, including vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), placental growth factor (PlGF), monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)-1, plateletderived growth factor (PDGF)-AA, interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, and IL-12 (p70).
Results :
At baseline, significant increased concentrations of VEGF, PlGF, MCP-1, PDGF-AA, IL-6, IL-8 and p70 were observed in aqueous humor samples of patients with CRVO. After 3 monthly IVC, significantly decreased concentrations of VEGF, PlGF, MCP-1, PDGF-AA, IL-6, IL-8 and p70 were observed in aqueous humor samples of these patients (P<0.001). Six of 61 eyes (9.8%) showed a rebound macular edema after IVC, which occurred after month 3 in all cases. When macular edema rebounded, there was a significant increase in MCP-1, PDGF-AA, IL-6, IL-8 and p70 (P<0.001), while VEGF and PlGF did not change (P>0.05) compared with the baseline samples.
Conclusions :
Rebound macular edema after IVC in patients with macular edema secondary to CRVO may be caused by inflammatory cytokines increase after anti-VEGF therapy.
This abstract was presented at the 2019 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Vancouver, Canada, April 28 - May 2, 2019.