Anti-VEGF in a Marathon Runner’s Retinopathy Case

Alexander Kahjun Soon,David Robert Chow,Paulo Ricardo Chaves De Oliveira

doi:10.1155/2016/5756970

Abstract

Central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) is one of the most common retinal vascular disorders. Intense exercise associated CRVO have been described in otherwise healthy young patients. We describe a case of a young male ultramarathoner who presented with a CRVO, presumably associated with dehydration, making part of a marathon runner's retinopathy. Resolution of macular edema and subretinal fluid, with visual acuity improvement, was observed after 3 monthly injections of ranibizumab. Our case suggests that dehydration could be involved in the mechanism of CRVO in healthy young patients and ranibizumab may be an effective treatment option for marathon runner's retinopathy.

Highlights

Central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) is one of the most common retinal vascular disorders
Complications of CRVO include macular edema, ocular neovascularization, and neovascular glaucoma that can lead to low vision and blindness [1, 2]
We report a similar case of CRVO occurring in a highly trained athlete, following a complete marathon run, who was successfully treated with ranibizumab

Summary

Introduction

Central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) is one of the most common retinal vascular disorders. It can be classified as ischemic and nonischemic, generally defined by the fluorescein angiography findings. It usually occurs in the elderly population, younger subjects are still susceptible. Especially in younger patients presenting with CRVO, other abnormalities, such as increased blood viscosity, protein C or S deficiency, vasculitis, hyperhomocysteinemia, and factor V Leiden mutation, should be investigated [2, 3]. Intense exercise associated CRVO, with possible alteration on blood rheologic factors, have been described in otherwise healthy young patients [4]. We report a similar case of CRVO occurring in a highly trained athlete, following a complete marathon run, who was successfully treated with ranibizumab

Case Report

Findings

Discussion