Review of first year result of photodynamic therapy on age-related macular degeneration in chinese population

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate the effect of verteporfin therapy (Visudyne) on age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in Chinese patients. The baseline characteristic and the visual outcome will be compared with the treatment of AMD with photodynamic therapy study (TAP) and verteporfin in photodynamic therapy study (VIP). Design: Retrospective comparative case series. Method: We recruited patients > 50 years old, with best-corrected visual acuity > 20/200 and fluorescein angiography documenting subfoveal either predominantly classic with greatest linear dimension > 5400 μm or pure occult choroidal neovascularization (CNV) secondary to AMD. We applied non-thermal laser to the lesion 15 min after visudyne infusion as described in TAP study. Patients were followed up with fluorescein angiography every 3 months. Additional treatment would be offered if there was evidence of recurrence of CNV. Outcome measure: Baseline characteristic and visual outcome. Result: In all, 46 eyes of 42 patients were enrolled at our centre from July 2002 to June 2003. They comprised 11 eyes with predominantly classic lesions and 35 eyes with pure occult lesion. The mean number of treatment sessions given was 2.9 in the first year. At the 12-month examination, there were 63 and 29% of patients showing visual improvement in predominantly classic and occult groups, respectively, while there were only 16% of patients in the TAP study and 12% of patients in the VIP study showing visual improvement in the same period. Conclusion: Verteporfin therapy for subfoveal CNV is beneficial to Chinese patients with AMD at first year. The visual result seems to be better than that observed in Caucasian patients. © 2006 Nature Publishing Group. All rights reserved.