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Iluvien protects against neuroretinal loss

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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Patients with diabetic retinopathy experienced less neuroretinal loss after receiving a fluocinolone acetonide implant, according to a speaker here.

“We found preclinical and clinical evidence that diabetic retinopathy is a neurodegenerative disease,” Alexander Eaton, MD, said at the Retina World Congress. “I believe this is a new way of looking at it. We found neuroretinal degeneration slowed after treatment with the fluocinolone implant.”

Eaton and colleagues examined the USER study and evaluated OCT data collected up to 3 years before Iluvien (fluocinolone acetonide intravitreal implant 0.19 mg, Alimera Sciences) implantation and 2 years after receiving the implant. OCT segmentation analysis was used to assess nerve fiber layer changes before and after implantation. One hundred sixty eyes of 130 patients were treated.

Visual acuity in the cohort was maintained after Iluvien implantation. Treatment burden was reduced after implantation, with patients requiring one treatment every 14.3 months after implantation compared with one treatment every 2.9 months before implantation.

Researchers evaluated 1,800 OCTs before Iluvien implantation and 900 after implantation.

“In our analysis, we found a reduction of neuroretinal loss of 4 µm a year prior to the fluocinolone to 1.1 µm a year post-fluocinolone implant. This was highly statistically significant,” Eaton said.

The findings suggest there may be a role for earlier Iluvien implantation to slow diabetic neuroretinal degeneration, he said.

“It may help to explain the disconnect we’ve seen in OCTs of visual acuity in diabetic patients in a number of other studies,” Eaton said. – by Robert Linnehan

Reference:

Eaton A. Reduction in diabetic retinal neurodegeneration following 0.2µg/day FAc implant: new evidence from the USER study. Presented at: Retina World Congress; March 21 to 24, 2019; Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Disclosure: Eaton reports stock ownership in Alimera Sciences and EyePoint Pharmaceuticals.