Retinal venular vasculature may predict initial treatment response to intravitreal therapy

They categorized the patients as full treatment responders (FTR) or non/partial treatment responders (N/PR).

The results of this research article are summarised below:

• In 54 eyes with follow-up, 44.4% were categorized as FTR. These patients were older (81.5 vs 77 years and before treatment, their eyes had a lower retinal arteriolar fractal dimension (Fd) (1.21 vs 1.24 units) and venular length-diameter ratio (LDR) (7.3 vs 15.9 units).
• These did not differ regarding other retinal vascular parameters.
• A higher retinal venular LDR independently predicted a lower chance of FTR and marginally by a higher retinal arteriolar Fd.

They said, “Retinal venular LDR independently predicted the initial treatment response in nAMD. This can guide treatment If confirmed by long-term studies.

The study strengths include prospective design, validated retinal structural measurements, and the inclusion of a treatment-naïve cohort.

The limitations include a limited number of patients and a lack of data on the subtypes of macular neovascularization, so we recommend more long-term studies to determine precision and validity.

Further reading:

Leth-Møller Christensen K, Kristjansen DB, Vergmann AS, Torp TL, Peto T, Grauslund J. Retinal vascular structure independently predicts the initial treatment response in neovascular age-related macular degeneration. Acta Ophthalmol. 2023 May 17. doi: 10.1111/aos.15709.