Month: August 2013

TORONTO — Two-year results of the HARBOR trial support as-needed treatment in patients with wet age-related macular degeneration, a researcher said here. “Over 2 years, 93% of PRN [as needed] patients did not require monthly dosing, indicating that an individualized treatment approach with ranibizumab may be appropriate for most patients with wet macular degeneration,” Brandon Busbee, MD, said at the American Society of Retina Specialists meeting.In the HARBOR trial, 1,097 patients with active disease were randomized to one of four groups: 0.5 mg or 2 mg ranibizumab injected monthly, or 0.5 mg (Read more...)

TORONTO — The clinical course of patients with vitreomacular adhesions managed by initial observation is generally favorable, a speaker here said.“Overall, 32% of study eyes had spontaneous release of the vitreomacular adhesion,” Harry Flynn, MD, said at the American Society of Retina Specialists meeting. Flynn reported a noncomparative case series of patients with vitreomacular adhesion noted on spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) and selected for observational management by individual physicians.

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TORONTO — Nepafenac ophthalmic suspension 0.1% demonstrated improved outcomes compared with vehicle in preventing macular edema following cataract surgery in patients with diabetic retinopathy, a presenter said.Cystoid macular edema is a common cause of poor visual outcome following uneventful cataract surgery, Rishi P. Singh, MD, said at the American Society of Retina Specialists meeting, and postsurgical macular changes are more likely to occur in patients with preexisting retinopathies.“CME can occur in up to 35% of patients who have diabetic retinopathy who undergo uncomplicated surgery,” Singh said.

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TORONTO — Despite early management, poor visual acuity outcomes are associated with endogenous endophthalmitis caused by yeast, according to a poster presentation.Patients who underwent recent remote surgery were the most common to incur endogenous fungal endophthalmitis, Jayanth Sridhar, MD, and colleagues, said in a poster presented at the American Society of Retina Specialists meeting. Microbiologic records of Bascom Palmer Eye Institute patients were retrospectively reviewed for endogenous endophthalmitis caused by yeast. Medical records were analyzed for clinical presentation, management strategies, visual acuity and outcomes.

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TORONTO — Genotype-directed nutritional therapy could double the reduction in rate of progression to advanced age-related macular degeneration compared with therapy with the AREDS formulation, a speaker said here.In a genetic analysis of 995 AREDS patients grouped by AREDS category, Carl C. Awh, MD, and colleagues concluded that genetic risk markers CFH and ARMS2 can predict response to antioxidants and zinc in patients with moderate AMD.“For example, CFH binds zinc,” Awh told colleagues at the American Society of Retina Specialists meeting. “This neutralizes its ability to inhibit C3.”

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TORONTO — In cases of uncomplicated retinal detachment, scleral buckle may be a good treatment option for phakic eyes, while the surgeon must balance the benefits of vitrectomy and scleral buckle for pseudophakic eyes, according to a study presented here.“There is no consensus about the best treatment option,” Ron Adelman, MD, MPH, told colleagues at the American Society of Retina Specialists meeting. However, the European Vitreo-Retinal Society (EVRS) Retinal Detachment Study is the largest published study that sets out to answer that question, he said. Of 7,678 cases of retinal (Read more...)

TORONTO — Intravitreal bevacizumab or ranibizumab are useful in treating choroidal neovascularization associated with choroidal osteoma, according to a poster presented at the American Society of Retina Specialists meeting. Exudation was controlled and visual acuity was preserved. The retrospective study included eight patients: seven who presented with blurred vision and one who presented with photopsia. Mean age was 36.5 years; seven of the patients were white women.All patients underwent intravitreal injections of Avastin (bevacizumab, Genentech) or Lucentis (ranibizumab, Genentech).

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TORONTO — A couple of clinical trends monitored from year to year have shown firsts, a survey of retina specialists shows.

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