Psychophysical, electrofunctional, and morphological evaluation in naïve neovascular AMD patients treated with intravitreal anti‐VEGF

• Published in: Aging medicine 2024-04, Vol.7 (2), p.189-201
• Main Authors: Nebbioso, Marcella, Franzone, Federica, Milanese, Alberto, Artico, Marco, Taurone, Samanta, La Cava, Maurizio, Livani, Maria Luisa, Bonfiglio, Vincenza, Vestri, Annarita
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: anti‐VEGF; Clinical medicine; contrast sensitivity (CS); Electrodes; FDA approval; Macular degeneration; Medical diagnosis; Medical imaging; Morphology; optical coherence tomography (OCT); Original; Patients; Spatial analysis; Tomography; Vascular endothelial growth factor; Visual acuity; visual evoked potential (VEP); wet age‐related macular degeneration (AMD)
• ISSN: 2475-0360; 2475-0360
• DOI: 10.1002/agm2.12296

Objectives The aim of this study was to investigate the retinal morpho‐functional characteristics of patients with neovascular wet age‐related macular degeneration (nAMD) treated with intravitreal injection (IV) of aflibercept (AFL). Methods The study was conducted on 35 patients previously diagnosed with type 1 nAMD who received a fixed‐dosing regimen of aflibercept injections over 12 months. The goal was to assess trends in visual abilities over time by measuring visual acuity (VA), contrast sensitivity (CS), visual evoked potentials (VEPs), and spectral domain‐optical coherence tomography (SD‐OCT). The same psychophysical, electro‐functional, and morphological tests administered at baseline (T0) were repeated 4 to 8 weeks after the last aflibercept injection (Tn), resulting in a total of six examinations. Results At Tn, all subjects exhibited improved VA for both far and near distances compared to values detected at T0. Similarly, VEP amplitude and latency values at Tn showed a greater P100 improvement than those observed at T0. Additionally, the CS examination at Tn demonstrated improvement, particularly at high spatial stimulation frequencies. The Tn SD‐OCT results highlighted a reduction in macular thickness compared to T0 values. Conclusions This exploratory research indicates that intravitreal injections of AFL, following a fixed‐dosing regimen, represent a valuable therapeutic approach for enhancing visual performance. This conclusion is supported by comprehensive statistical analysis of psychophysical, electro‐functional, and morphological examinations within the same group of patients with nAMD, as demonstrated for the first time. The study was carried out on a group of patients with a diagnosis of type 1 neovascular age‐related macular degeneration. Intravitreal injections of anti‐vascular endothelial growth factor were injected with a fixed‐dosing regimen protocol for 12 months. Psychophysical, electro‐functional, and morphological tests provided at baseline T0 were then repeated and have demonstrated a tendency toward a marked improvement in visual abilities and structural data over time.