This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
VA, morphologic features strengthen during year 2 of CATT
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
The associations between visual acuity and morphologic features on fundus photography, fluorescein angiography and optical coherence tomography in the second year of the Comparison of Age-related Macular Degeneration Treatment Trials were maintained or strengthened during year 2, according to researchers in Ophthalmology.
CATT Study participants required angiographic and optical coherence tomography evidence of choroidal neovascularization (CNV) secondary to age-related macular degeneration and visual acuity between 20/25 and 20/320. Participants were randomly assigned to receive ranibizumab or bevacizumab with three different dosing regimens over a 2-year period.
Sharma and colleagues reported that anti-VEGF treatment did not further reduce macular fluid, thickness or vascular leakage, or stabilize lesion growth, which contrasted the decreases in year 1 of the study. Visual acuity gains were maintained or improved by anti-VEGF therapy for all groups except the ranibizumab switched group (patients who were randomly selected to switch to an as-needed dosing regimen).
The largest decreases in visual acuity were associated with intraretinal fluid, abnormally thin or thick retinas, larger CNV area, increasing subretinal pigment epithelium tissue complex thickness, and foveal scar and geographic atrophy at week 104, according to the study.
A key 1-year finding, that intraretinal fluid, as determined by OCT, had a negative impact on visual acuity at all time points examined, was strengthened throughout year 2.
Researchers determined that the presence of subretinal fluid was associated with better visual acuity at year 2 even when controlling for other potentially confounding variables.
Worse visual acuity was seen in abnormally thin or thick retinas, which was strengthened over year 2.
“The fact that both ranibizumab and bevacizumab monthly resulted in the same proportion of subnormal thinning at the end of year 2 suggests that monthly anti-VEGF therapy results in more retinal atrophy regardless of the drug, although it may occur more rapidly with ranibizumab,” the researchers wrote. – by Abigail Sutton
Disclosure: Sharma reported no relevant financial disclosures. Please see the full study for a full list of financial disclosures.
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts