Abstract
Investigate associations between systemic vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and optical coherence tomography (OCT) biomarkers in eyes with complete retinal pigment epithelium and outer retina atrophy (cRORA) secondary to non-neovascular age-related macular degeneration. Cross-sectional study of patients with cRORA. OCT images and blood samples were collected at study enrollment. OCT images were evaluated for biomarkers. Systemic VEGF levels were measured using a standard multiplex assay. Study included 187 eyes from 96 patients. Lower levels of systemic VEGF were significantly associated with retinal pseudocysts (RPs) and subretinal hyper-reflective material (SHRM), a median of 7.7 pg/mL and 6.1 pg/mL for patients with the imaging biomarkers compared to those without (10.3 pg/mL [P = 0.004] and 9.3 pg/mL [P = 0.02], respectively). This novel study shows that lower systemic VEGF levels were associated with SHRM and RP, which was shown to correspond to an intermediate stage of the atrophic process in age-related macular degeneration. Systemic VEGF could be a useful biomarker and therapeutic target for eyes with cRORA. [Ophthalmic Surg Lasers Imaging Retina 2024;55:XX-XX.].
Published Version
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call