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Retinal thickness important factor for AMD treatments
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NEW YORK — Including retinal thickness analysis in studies of new therapies for age-related macular degeneration may provide physicians with a more comprehensive picture than just lesion size and type, said one surgeon speaking here. Jason Slakter, MD, said retinal thickness measurements can provide a third element in analysis of clinical trial data.
“We must look at the amount of retinal thickening in interpreting the outcome of data,” Dr. Slakter told an audience here at Macula 2006.
He said that a “three-dimensional approach” can have benefits when evaluating new therapies.
For instance, he said, in some studies, patients who were thought to have small, recent lesions, were shown later to have extensive leakage, and many had cystoid macular edema.
Dr. Slakter also suggested that clinical trials should measure the efficacy of therapies in relation to the natural history of the disease, which he called a fourth dimension.
“Retinal thickness is important for clinical management and for future clinical designs,” he concluded.