No abstract

Purpose A previous study has shown that the pulsatile ocular blood flow (POBF) in eyes with asymmetric age-related macular degeneration (AMD) differs. Whereas eyes with drusen have higher POBF than contralateral eyes with disciform scarring, the POBF of eyes with drusen is lower relative to contralateral eyes with choroidal neovascularization (CNV). This study was designed to assess whether the POBF of eyes with CNV changes after transpupillary thermotherapy (TTT), using the contralateral eyes with drusen or scarring without TTT as controls. Methods In total, 26 patients with CNV in one eye and drusen or scarring in the other were enrolled in this prospective case series. Eyes with CNV were treated with TTT. POBF was measured monthly in both eyes of each subject. Results Before TTT, the POBF of eyes with CNV was 11797317 ml/min. After TTT, the POBF of CNV eyes had decreased at 1 month (10157273 ml/min, P ¼ 0.002) and 2 months (9457398 ml/min, P ¼ 0.011) of follow-up, but had rebounded at 3 months (P ¼ 0.441) and 6 months (P ¼ 0.084). Conclusions These findings suggest that TTT decreases the pulsatile choroidal blood flow in eyes with CNV in patients with asymmetric AMD and the effects persist for 2 months. POBF may be used as a modality to monitor the therapeutic effects of CNV in asymmetric exudative AMD.