title: Effect of anti-VEGF treatment on choroidal thickness over time in patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate change in subfoveal choroidal thickness (SCT) as measured by spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) in patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (NVAMD) undergoing anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) therapy.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients with a diagnosis of NVAMD were retrospectively reviewed to identify those who had at least 12 months of follow-up. The SCT was manually measured from Bruch membrane to the choroid-sclera junction at baseline and last follow-up. Only cases in which the choroid was fully visible were included in quantitative analyses. The SCT measurements were correlated with other characteristics including number and duration of treatments.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Sixty eyes of 47 patients with a follow-up of 23.8 months (SD 7.3) met study inclusion criteria, and 49 eyes of 40 patients received anti-VEGF treatment. Mean age was 83.7 years, and 52% were female. Treated eyes received a mean of 7.8 (SD 7.3) intravitreal anti-VEGF injections. The SCT at baseline was 126.7 μm (SD 50.6) for untreated and 136.2 μm (SD 57.6) for treated eyes. The SCT showed a decrease over time in both groups, with a mean rate of reduction of 6.0 μm (p&lt;0.0002) in treated eyes and 3.6 μm (p = 0.3741) in untreated eyes. However, the change in SCT did not differ between the groups (p = 0.5113), and did not correlate with the number of re-treatments (p = 0.552), visual acuity at baseline (p = 0.618), or change in visual acuity over time (p = 0.429).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although choroidal thickness decreased over time in eyes with NVAMD, anti-VEGF therapy did not appear to accelerate or otherwise alter this decline.
authors.affiliation: Doheny Eye Institute, affiliate of Stein Eye Institute and the University of California, Los Angeles - USA.
authors.forename: Emma C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: McDonnell
authors.forename: Florian M
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Heussen
authors.forename: Humberto
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ruiz-Garcia
authors.forename: Yanling
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ouyang
authors.forename: Ramsudha
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Narala
authors.forename: Alexander C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Walsh
authors.forename: Srinivas R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Sadda
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D020533:Angiogenesis Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002829:Choroid / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D058449:Intravitreal Injections; D008268:Macular Degeneration / Q000188:drug therapy; D008297:Male; D009929:Organ Size; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013997:Time Factors; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000502:physiology; D057135:Wet Macular Degeneration / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology
chemical_list: D020533:Angiogenesis Inhibitors; C467484:VEGFA protein, human; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A