title: Subfoveal Choroidal Thickness during Aflibercept Therapy for Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration: Twelve-Month Results.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate changes in subfoveal choroidal thickness after intravitreal aflibercept injections (IAIs) for neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD) at 12 months.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective, consecutive, interventional case series.
  
  
  METHODS
  One hundred forty-four patients with treatment-naïve neovascular AMD examined at 3 university hospitals.
  
  
  METHODS
  After a loading phase of 3 monthly 2.0-mg IAIs, the patients were injected bimonthly with additional rescue injections performed for worsening. Subfoveal choroidal thickness in IAI-treated eyes was evaluated using enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography (OCT) or swept-source OCT.
  
  
  METHODS
  Changes in subfoveal choroidal thickness over a 12-month period.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 144 treated eyes, 58 (40.3%) had typical neovascular AMD and 86 (59.7%) had polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV). The mean subfoveal choroidal thickness of treated eyes decreased from 268.1±101.3 μm at baseline to 233.0±99.7 μm at 3 months and remained unchanged at 232.4±99.6 μm at 12 months (percentage decrease, 13.3% at 12 months compared with baseline; P < 0.0001), although there was some fluctuation in between treatments. This decrease in subfoveal choroidal thickness was associated significantly with gain in visual acuity for PCV eyes (P = 0.0087; R = 0.28), but not for eyes with typical neovascular AMD (P = 0.17; R = 0.18). Eyes without persistent or recurrent retinal fluid after the loading phase showed greater decrease in subfoveal choroidal thickness compared with those with persistent or recurrent retinal fluid, in both typical neovascular AMD (P = 0.042) and PCV (P = 0.038) eyes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Subfoveal choroidal thickness decreased over 12 months with IAI therapy in eyes with neovascular AMD. Changes in subfoveal choroidal thickness after IAIs seem to be related to visual and anatomic outcomes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Tokyo Women's Medical University, Tokyo, Japan. Electronic address: koizumi.hideki@twmu.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Hideki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Koizumi
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Japan.
authors.forename: Mariko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kano
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Kyorin University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Akiko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Japan.
authors.forename: Masaaki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Saito
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Tokyo Women's Medical University, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Ichiro
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Maruko
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Japan.
authors.forename: Tetsuju
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sekiryu
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Kyorin University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Annabelle A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Okada
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Tokyo Women's Medical University, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Tomohiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Iida
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D020533:Angiogenesis Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002829:Choroid / Q000473:pathology*; D020256:Choroidal Neovascularization / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D005451:Fluorescein Angiography; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D058449:Intravitreal Injections; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009929:Organ Size; D040262:Receptors, Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; 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; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; C467484:VEGFA protein, human; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A; C533178:aflibercept; D040262:Receptors, Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor