Unilateral Polypoidal Choroidal Vasculopathy Research Articles

Development of polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy in unaffected fellow eyes

PurposeTo assess longitudinal changes and determine their angiographic risk factors in the fellow eyes of patients with unilateral polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV).MethodsWe reviewed the medical records of 47 patients with...

Phenotype and Genotype Characteristics of Age-related Macular Degeneration in a Japanese Population

To describe phenotype and genotype characteristics of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in Japanese patients. A case-control study. A total of 550 case-control samples composed of 408 consecutive AMD cases and 142 controls. Clinical information assessing age, gender, affected eyes, fundus features, and fluorescein/indocyanine green angiograms were systematically evaluated. Four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs; rs800292, rs1061170, rs1410996, rs2274700) in the complement factor H (CFH) gene, 1 SNP (rs11200638) in the high-temperature requirement factor A1 (HTRA1) gene, 3 SNPs (rs699947, rs1570360, rs2010963) in the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) gene, and 4 SNPs (rs12150053, rs12948385, rs9913583, rs1136287) in the pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF) gene were assessed using TaqMan technology. The clinical phenotype information and genotypes of CFH, HTRA1, VEGF, and PEDF polymorphisms. Of Japanese patients with neovascular AMD (nAMD), 219 (58.7%) had typical nAMD and 154 (41.3%) had polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV). The frequency of bilateral exudative involvement was similar between typical nAMD (15.5%) and PCV (13.6%) (P = 0.613). Significant soft drusen were observed in the fellow eyes of 88 (47.6%) of 185 patients with unilateral typical nAMD and in 25 (18.8%) of 133 patients with unilateral PCV (P = 1.24x10(-7)). A serous pigment epithelium detachment was seen in 55 (25.1%) of 219 patients with typical nAMD and in 64 (41.6%) of 154 patients with PCV. A significant association was noted in CFH-rs800292, CFH-rs1410996, CFH-rs2274700, and HTRA1-rs11200638 with AMD development (P = 2.36x10(-5), 7.18x10(-5), 7.18x10(-5), 2.70x10(-7), respectively; population attributable risk = 57.3%, 57.8%, 57.8%, and 58.9%, respectively). We estimated the highest-risk group to have an approximately 70-fold greater risk of nAMD compared with the lowest-risk group when analyzing a combination of 4 SNPs in the CFH and HTRA1 genes. The Japanese AMD phenotype is characterized by a higher frequency of PCV, male predominance, and lower frequency of bilateral presentation compared with Caucasian AMD. Genotype analyses demonstrate a significant population attributable risk for SNPs in the CFH and HTRA1 genes and demonstrate joint effects for both genes. Gene variants in both CFH and HTRA1 contribute significantly to the AMD phenotype in a Japanese population.

Polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy associated with tilted disk syndrome.

To describe a complication of tilted disk syndrome-macular serous retinal detachment caused by development of polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy. A 65-year-old patient with visual loss and metamorphopsia was evaluated with fluorescein and indocyanine green angiography (ICG) and optical coherence tomography. Subsequently, photodynamic therapy (PDT) with verteporfin was administered. Fundus examination showed classic features of tilted disk syndrome as well as a unilateral macular serous detachment secondary to a polypoidal lesion, which was clearly outlined by ICG angiography at the site of a macular lacquer crack. The lesion resolved after PDT. Two years after treatment, no recurrence was observed, and visual acuity was 20/25 without distortion. In this patient with tilted disk syndrome, unilateral polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy was diagnosed by ICG angiography and treated successfully with PDT.

Polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy and exudative age-related macular degeneration in Greek population.

To study the prevalence, the clinical features, and the visual prognosis without treatment of polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV) in a large series of Greek patients presenting with exudative maculopathy. The medical records, photographs,as well as fluorescein and indocyanine green(ICG) angiograms of a series of 268 consecutive elderly white Greek patients, who were originally diagnosed as having exudative age-related macular degeneration (AMD) were reviewed retrospectively. In all, 22 of the 268 (8.2%) patients initially suspected of having AMD were ultimately diagnosed with PCV. In 15 of the 22(68.2%) patients with PCV, the polypoidal lesions were located in the peripapillary area. Large soft drusen were present in only two fellow eyes of the 10 (20%) patients with unilateral PCV compared with 120 fellow eyes of the 148 (81.1%) patients with unilateral AMD. At the last examination, 11 of the 22(50%) patients with PCV and 120 of the 246(48.8%) patients with AMD presented a visual acuity of less than 6/60 in at least one eye due to scar formation in the macula. PCV is not an infrequent disease in Greece. A measurable number of Greek patients with findings suggestive of exudative AMD will instead have PCV. ICG angiography is important in differentiating between these two clinical entities. In Greeks, polypoidal lesions are predominantly peripapillary and are not usually associated with macular drusen in the fellow eye. PCV and exudative AMD do not differ significantly in terms of their natural course and visual prognosis in Greek patients.