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Polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy a variant of type 1 neovascularization
WAIKOLOA, Hawaii — Polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy is found above the Bruch’s membrane and is a variant of type 1 neovascularization, a speaker said here.
According to K. Bailey Freund, MD, polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV) is not just a distinct abnormality of the inner choroidal vasculature, as was initially thought.
“[Optical coherence tomography] shows that rather than the polyps being in the choroid, they’re found directly beneath the retinal pigment epithelium, and they’re often a small fraction of what is a much larger vascularized pigment epithelial detachment,” he said at Retina 2013.
K. Bailey Freund
Freund said PCV originates from long-standing choroidal neovascularization; as a variant of type 1 neovascularization, PCV is a neovasculopathy, not a primary choroidal vascular disorder.
He also said PCV should not be considered a distinct clinical entity, as genetic associations will match the underlying disease responsible for type 1 neovascularization.
Freund said he believes the correlation between PCV and central serous chorioretinopathy may account for the high prevalence of PCV in Asian patients.
“Other physicians have shown that patients who get PCV in Asia are much more likely to have thick hyperpermeable choroids,” he said. “I wonder if this variant of type 1 neovascularization occurring in eyes with this hyperpermeable choroid may account for a lot of the PCV that occurs in Asia.”
Disclosure: Freund receives research support from Genentech. He is also an advisor to Genentech, Regeneron, Optos, DigiSight, QLT and ThromboGenics.