Purpose To compare hemifield differences in the vessel density of the optic nerve head and macula in open-angle glaucoma (OAG) eyes with visual field (VF) defect confined to one hemifield using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCT-A). Design Cross-sectional study. Participants Fifty-eight eyes of 58 glaucoma patients with VF loss confined to a single hemifield, and 28 healthy eyes. Methods Retinal vasculature information was summarized as circumpapillary vessel density (cpVD) and perifoveal vessel density (pfVD). Circumpapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (cpRNFL) and macular ganglion cell complex (mGCC) thickness were also calculated using spectral domain OCT. Paired and unpaired t-tests were utilized to evaluate differences between the perimetrically affected and intact hemiretinae and healthy hemiretinae. Linear regression analyses were performed to evaluate the associations between VF measures with vascular and structural measurements. Main Outcome Measures Total and hemispheric cpVD, pfVD, cpRNFL, mGCC and mean sensitivity (MS). Results Mean cpVD and pfVD in the intact hemiretinae of OAG eyes (59.0% and 51.1%) were higher than the affected hemiretinae (54.7% and 48.3%; p<0.001) but lower than healthy eyes (62.4% and 53.8%; p<0.001). Similar results were noted with cpRNFL and mGCC thickness measurements (p<0.05 for both). The strongest associations between MS in the affected hemifields were found for cpVD (r = 0.707), followed by pfVD (r = 0.615), cpRNFL (r = 0.496) and mGCC (r = 0.482) in the corresponding hemiretinae (p<0.001 for all). Moreover the correlations in the intact hemifields between MS with cpVD and pfVD were found to be higher (r = 0.450 and 0.403) than the correlations between MS and cpRNFL and mGCC thickness measurements (r = 0.340 and 0.290; all p-values <0.05 for all). Conclusions Reduced peripapillary and macular vessel density was detectable in the perimetrically intact hemiretinae of glaucoma eyes with a single-hemifield defect. Moreover vessel density attenuation in both affected and intact hemiretinae was associated with the extent of VF damage in the corresponding hemifields. OCT-A potentially shows promise for identifying glaucomatous damage before focal VF defects are detectable.
A significant increase in sensitivity between the first and second test, but not in the subsequent tests, was found for participants who had not performed microperimetry previously. Intrasession test-retest variability can therefore be minimized by discarding the first examination to avoid the influence of a learning effect.
Purpose: There is an urgent need for a more effective intervention to slow or prevent progression of agerelated macular degeneration (AMD) from its early stages to vision-threatening late complications. Subthreshold nanosecond laser (SNL) treatment has shown promise in preclinical studies and a pilot study in intermediate AMD (iAMD) as a potential treatment. We aimed to evaluate the safety of SNL treatment in iAMD and its efficacy for slowing progression to late AMD.Design: The Laser Intervention in Early Stages of Age-Related Macular Degeneration (LEAD) study is a 36month, multicenter, randomized, sham-controlled trial.Participants: Two hundred ninety-two participants with bilateral large drusen and without OCT signs of atrophy. Methods: Participants were assigned randomly to receive Retinal Rejuvenation Therapy (2RT Ò ; Ellex Pty Ltd, Adelaide, Australia) SNL or sham treatment to the study eye at 6-monthly intervals.Main Outcome Measures: The primary efficacy outcome was the time to development of late AMD defined by multimodal imaging (MMI). Safety was assessed by adverse events.Results: Overall, progression to late AMD was not slowed significantly with SNL treatment compared with sham treatment (adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 0.61; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.33e1.14; P ¼ 0.122). However, a post hoc analysis showed evidence of effect modification based on the coexistence of reticular pseudodrusen (RPD; adjusted interaction P ¼ 0.002), where progression was slowed for the 222 participants (76.0%) without coexistent RPD at baseline (adjusted HR, 0.23; 95% CI, 0.09e0.59; P ¼ 0.002), whereas an increased progression rate (adjusted HR, 2.56; 95% CI, 0.80e8.18; P ¼ 0.112) was observed for the 70 participants (24.0%) with RPD with SNL treatment. Differences between the groups in serious adverse events were not significant.Conclusions: In participants with iAMD without MMI-detected signs of late AMD, no significant difference in the overall progression rate to late AMD between those receiving SNL and sham treatment were observed. However, SNL treatment may have a role in slowing progression for those without coexistent RPD and may be inappropriate in those with RPD, warranting caution when considering treatment in clinical phenotypes with RPD. Our findings provide compelling evidence for further trials of the 2RT Ò laser, but they should not be extrapolated to other short-pulse lasers.
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