title: The reduction of serum soluble Flt-1 in patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate serum soluble Flt-1 (sFlt-1) in age-related macular degeneration (AMD) patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Case-control study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Study involved 56 non-AMD participants, 53 early AMD patients, and 97 neovascular AMD patients from Belfast in Northern Ireland. Serum samples were collected from each patient. Serum sFlt-1 was measured by human sVEGFR1/sFlt-1 ELISA kit. The results were analyzed by Excel and SPSS.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Serum sFlt-1 concentration of non-AMD, early AMD, and neovascular AMD were 90.8 ± 2.9 pg/mL (± standard error of the mean), 88.2 ± 2.6 pg/mL, and 79.9 ± 2.2 pg/mL. sFlt-1 from neovascular AMD patients was significantly decreased compared to non-AMD and early AMD patients (ANOVA, P < .01). For each 10-point increase in sFlt-1, the odds for having neovascular AMD compared with non-AMD and neovascular AMD decrease by 27.8%, odds ratio (OR) = 0.722 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.588-0.888, P = .002) and 27.0%, OR = 0.730 (95% CI: 0.594-0.898, P = .003), respectively. In patients over 73 years of age, serum sFlt-1 <80 pg/mL was associated with a >6-fold higher risk of neovascular AMD.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Reduced serum sFlt-1 differentiates those patients with neovascular AMD from both early AMD and non-AMD participants. In those aged over 73, serum sFlt <80 pg/mL seems to indicate a particularly high risk of neovascular AMD. Our results indicate serum sFlt-1 could be a biomarker for development of neovascular AMD.
authors.affiliation: John A Moran Eye Center, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah.
authors.forename: Hironori
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Uehara
authors.affiliation: John A Moran Eye Center, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah.
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mamalis
authors.affiliation: Division of Epidemiology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah.
authors.forename: Molly
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: McFadden
authors.affiliation: John A Moran Eye Center, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Taggart
authors.affiliation: John A Moran Eye Center, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah.
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Stagg
authors.affiliation: John A Moran Eye Center, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah.
authors.forename: Samuel
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Passi
authors.affiliation: Centre for Experimental Medicine, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Phillip
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Earle
authors.affiliation: Centre for Experimental Medicine, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Usha
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Chakravarthy
authors.affiliation: Centre for Experimental Medicine, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Ruth E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Hogg
authors.affiliation: John A Moran Eye Center, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah. Electronic address: Bala.ambati@utah.edu.
authors.forename: Balamurali K
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Ambati
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D020256:Choroidal Neovascularization / Q000097:blood*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008268:Macular Degeneration / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D012307:Risk Factors; D040281:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-1 / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; C501162:FLT1 protein, human; D040281:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-1