Outcome of choroidal neovascularization in angioid streaks after photodynamic therapy.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the visual and anatomic outcomes of photodynamic therapy for choroidal neovascularization (CNV) in patients with angioid streaks.


METHODS
The authors retrospectively evaluated 40 consecutive patients (48 eyes) with visual acuity of 20/200 or greater who were treated at 6 referral centers for CNV associated with angioid streaks. Main outcome measures were visual acuity, greatest linear diameter of the lesion, and, in patients with nonsubfoveal CNV, distance from the foveola.


RESULTS
Of 34 eyes with subfoveal CNV, 21 were followed up for at least 12 months (range, 5-33 months). Median visual acuity was 20/50 at baseline and 20/120 at the final examination. The 12-month estimate of the percentage of eyes with vision loss of fewer than 3 lines was 68% (95% confidence interval, 50%-85%) by using survival analysis, whereas eyes with no increase in the greatest linear diameter were 45% (95% confidence interval, 27%-62%). Fourteen eyes had extrafoveal (n = 11) or juxtafoveal (n = 3) CNV, 12 of which were followed up for at least 10 months (range, 4-36 months). Visual acuity was 20/40 or greater in all eyes with extrafoveal lesions at baseline and in 5 of 12 eyes at the last examination, when 3 cases of CNV had become subfoveal. At baseline, visual acuity was low in two eyes with juxtafoveal CNV and nearly normal in the third. It remained substantially stable at the end of follow-up (range, 10-36 months), when two lesions were subfoveal.


CONCLUSIONS
Most of our patients had good baseline visual function and, thus, were at high risk for losing vision because of the poor prognosis of CNV in angioid streaks. Because most had no or limited vision loss after 1 year, the authors suggest that photodynamic therapy can be used to try to limit or delay visual damage caused by this aggressive disease.
Menchini
Ugo
U
Department of Oto-Neuro-Ophthalmological Surgical Sciences, University of Florence, Florence, Italy, USA. ugo.menchini@unifi.it
Virgili
Gianni
G
Introini
Ugo
U
Bandello
Francesco
F
Ambesi-Impiombato
Massimo
M
Pece
Alfredo
A
Parodi
Maurizio Battaglia
MB
Giacomelli
Giovanni
G
Capobianco
Benedetta
B
Varano
Monica
M
Brancato
Rosario
R
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000793:Angioid Streaks / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D020256:Choroidal Neovascularization / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010778:Photochemotherapy; D017319:Photosensitizing Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011166:Porphyrins / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D000077362:Verteporfin; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000502:physiology
D017319:Photosensitizing Agents; D011166:Porphyrins; D000077362:Verteporfin