Ranibizumab stabilizes vision in patients with RAP

Intravitreal ranibizumab (IVR) stabilizes vision in patients with retinal angiomatous proliferation (RAP), according to researchers from Japan, who reported their findings in the British Journal of Ophthalmology.

Advanced retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) analysis helps investigate atrophic areas after IVR, they wrote, adding that visual acuity at baseline and progression of macular atrophy (MA) might be important for best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) after IVR.

The investigators retrospectively looked at 17 treatment-naïve eyes in 14 patients who had undergone IVR. All of them had received three injections of ranibizumab, 0.5 mg/0.05 mL, for three consecutive months as an induction treatment. Their eyes were re-treated if clinical deterioration had occurred or if intraretinal oedema, subretinal fluid, or recurrent pigment epithelial detachment was observed via special domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) at a 1-month follow-up examination. The mean number of injections was 10.2.

The study's primary outcome measures were BCVA and central foveal thickness (CFT) as measured by SD-OCT. At 36 months, the researchers also looked at the atrophic area, analysed the RPE with SD-OCT and studied how it correlated with BCVA. Mean BCVA was well maintained and CFT decreased significantly, over the 36 months, they found.

RAP recurred in 16 of the 17 patients during the maintenance phase. Those who had better visual acuity at baseline also had better visual acuity at 36 months, as did those who did not have MA.

To read the abstract of the study, visit the journal's website here.