Edaravone (MCI-186) is effective as a free radical scavenger following arteriovenous sheathotomy for treatment of macular oedema associated with branch retinal vein occlusion.
OBJECTIVE
To determine whether edaravone (MCI-186), a free radical scavenger, can reduce macular oedema and improve the visual acuity after arteriovenous sheathotomy in eyes with a branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO).


METHODS
Forty-seven eyes of 47 consecutive patients with a BRVO who were treated with arteriovenous sheathotomy were studied. The patients were assigned prospectively to either Group R who received 30 mg of edaravone (Radicut) systemically during the vitrectomy or Group N who did not receive any drugs. The postoperative visual acuity was measured before and 12 months after the operation.


RESULTS
At 12 months postoperatively, the best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) in logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (logMAR) units improved significantly from 0.22 to 0.56 logMAR units in Group R and from 0.20 to 0.27 units in Group N (p = 0.016). Twenty-three of 27 cases (85%) in Group R and four of 15 cases (27%) in Group N showed an improvement in BCVA of >0.2 logMAR units (p = 0.0025).


CONCLUSIONS
The better visual acuity in patients given edaravone than those without endaravone during the arteriovenous sheathotomy suggests that edaravone improved the physiology of the retinal cells after the arteriovenous sheathotomy.
Maeno
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T
Tane Memorial Eye Hospital, 1-1-39 Sakaigawa Nishi-ku, Osaka, Osaka 550-0024, Japan. tanemem@io.ocn.ne.jp
Tano
R
R
Takenaka
H
H
Mano
T
T
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000983:Antipyrine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000077553:Edaravone; D005260:Female; D016166:Free Radical Scavengers / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D008269:Macular Edema / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011182:Postoperative Care; D012170:Retinal Vein Occlusion / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology; D014656:Vascular Surgical Procedures / Q000379:methods; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000187:drug effects; D014821:Vitrectomy / Q000379:methods
D016166:Free Radical Scavengers; D000077553:Edaravone; D000983:Antipyrine