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A modified treat-and-extend regimen of aflibercept for treatment-naïve patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration

  • Retinal Disorders
  • Published:
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Abstract

Purpose

To evaluate a modified treat-and-extend (TAE) regimen of intravitreal aflibercept injection (IAI) for treatment-naïve patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Methods

Thirty-six eyes (36 patients) treated with the modified TAE regimen were evaluated at 12 months retrospectively. The modified TAE regimen consisted of three steps: 1) an induction phase, during which patients were treated with ≥ 3-monthly IAIs until exudative activity disappeared, 2) an observation phase, during which patients were monitored until exudative activity appeared, and 3) a TAE phase, for which the initial treatment interval was determined based on the disease recurrence interval, followed by treatment intervals changing by 2 weeks.

Results

Mean logMAR BCVA improved significantly from 0.48 ± 0.51 at baseline to 0.40 ± 0.53 at 12 months (P < 0.01), and was maintained (losing <0.3 logMAR units) in 35 eyes (97.2 %). Mean central retinal thickness and central choroidal thickness decreased significantly after 12 months. In the TAE phase, the distribution of treatment intervals was ≥8 weeks in 64.7 % (11 eyes) at 12 months. The mean number of injections was 4.53.

Conclusion

A modified TAE regimen of IAI for neovascular AMD produced good functional outcomes over 12 months with the small number of injections.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ophthalmology, Kansai Medical University, 2-5-1 Shinmachi, Hirakata, Osaka, 573-1010, Japan

    Masayuki Ohnaka, Yoshimi Nagai, Kenichiro Sho, Katsuaki Miki, Motoki Kimura, Tomoyuki Chihara & Kanji Takahashi

Authors
  1. Masayuki Ohnaka
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  2. Yoshimi Nagai
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  3. Kenichiro Sho
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  4. Katsuaki Miki
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  5. Motoki Kimura
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  6. Tomoyuki Chihara
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  7. Kanji Takahashi
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Masayuki Ohnaka.

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No funding was received for this research.

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All authors certify that they have no affiliations with or involvement in any organization or entity with any financial interest, or non-financial interest in the subject matter or materials discussed in this manuscript.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

For this type of study, formal consent is not required.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Ohnaka, M., Nagai, Y., Sho, K. et al. A modified treat-and-extend regimen of aflibercept for treatment-naïve patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration. Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol 255, 657–664 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00417-016-3507-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00417-016-3507-7

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