title: Intravitreal ranibizumab for exudative age-related macular degeneration with good baseline visual acuity.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To clarify the efficacy of ranibizumab for treating age-related macular degeneration in patients with baseline visual acuity exceeding 20/40.
  
  
  METHODS
  We retrospectively reviewed 40 eyes of Japanese patients with age-related macular degeneration (32 men, 8 women) treated with intravitreal injections of ranibizumab (0.5 mg/0.05 mL) (ranibizumab group). We compared the results with observation of 52 eyes (control group). All patients were followed-up for at least 12 months.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the ranibizumab group, the mean logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution best-corrected visual acuity (Snellen equivalent) with typical age-related macular degeneration (22 eyes) and polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (18 eyes) statistically significantly (P < 0.0001, P = 0.015, respectively) improved from 0.17 (20/29) and 0.14 (20/28) at baseline to 0.07 (20/24) and 0.07 (20/24) at Month 12, respectively (mean numbers of treatments, 4.6 and 4.9). The central retinal thickness decreased from 262 ± 105 μm at baseline to 187 ± 62 μm at Month 12 in the ranibizumab group. In the control group, the mean logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution best-corrected visual acuity in eyes with typical age-related macular degeneration (19 eyes) and polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (33 eyes) statistically significant (P = 0.017, P = 0.023, respectively) declined from 0.08 (20/24) and 0.10 (20/25) at baseline to 0.18 (20/30) and 0.23 (20/34) at Month 12, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Intravitreal ranibizumab maintained or improved visual acuity and anatomic changes in patients with age-related macular degeneration with better than 20/40 visual acuity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, Fukushima, Japan. smasaaki@fmu.ac.jp
authors.forename: Masaaki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Saito
authors.forename: Tomohiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Iida
authors.forename: Mariko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kano
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D020533:Angiogenesis Inhibitors / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D061067:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D004396:Coloring Agents; D005122:Exudates and Transudates; D005260:Female; D005451:Fluorescein Angiography; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007208:Indocyanine Green; D058449:Intravitreal Injections; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D000069579:Ranibizumab; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000502:physiology*; D057135:Wet Macular Degeneration / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology
chemical_list: D020533:Angiogenesis Inhibitors; D061067:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized; D004396:Coloring Agents; C467484:VEGFA protein, human; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A; D007208:Indocyanine Green; D000069579:Ranibizumab