Photodynamic therapy in macular diseases of asian populations: when East meets West.
OBJECTIVE
We reviewed the indications, safety, and efficacy of photodynamic therapy with verteporfin in various macular diseases and vasculopathies, which are common in Asian populations, and compared the outcomes of photodynamic therapy in Asian patients with the outcomes in Caucasian patients.


METHODS
Relevant clinical and laboratory original articles, case reports, and review articles that have been published in the literature between January 1999 and October 2004 were searched in Medline. The potential differences in the response to photodynamic therapy between Asian and Caucasian patients were evaluated. Articles in foreign languages with English abstracts were included.


RESULTS
Macular diseases commonly seen in Asian populations, including choroidal neovascularization (CNV) of age-related macular degeneration, secondary to pathologic myopia or from an idiopathic cause, and choroidal vasculopathies such as central serous chorioretinopathy and polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy were included in the review. The results were tabulated and the differences with Caucasian populations were compared and highlighted.


CONCLUSIONS
Photodynamic therapy has been found to be an effective and noninvasive treatment for various subfoveal CNV and choroidal vasculopathies of the macula. Diverse behavior in different ethnic groups is observed.
Chan
Wai-Man
WM
Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Eye Hospital, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China. cwm6373@netvigator.com
Lai
Timothy Y Y
TY
Tano
Yasuo
Y
Liu
David T L
DT
Li
Kenneth K W
KK
Lam
Dennis S C
DS
D044466:Asian People; D006801:Humans; D008266:Macula Lutea; D010778:Photochemotherapy / Q000379:methods*; D017319:Photosensitizing Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012164:Retinal Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000208:ethnology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D044465:White People
D017319:Photosensitizing Agents