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Aqueous humor inflammatory cytokine levels and choroidal thickness in patients with macular edema associated with branch retinal vein occlusion

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Abstract

Purpose

We aimed to investigate the association between subfoveal choroidal thickness (SCT) and the level of aqueous humor (AH) inflammatory cytokines in patients with macular edema (ME) associated with branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO).

Methods

Twenty-eight eyes of 28 BRVO ME patients who underwent intravitreal injection treatment (ranibizumab, bevacizumab, or dexamethasone implant) were prospectively recruited. The concentrations of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-A and inflammatory cytokines were measured from AH samples. We analyzed clinical factors associated with visual gain or the degree of central macular thickness (CMT) decrease and the association between SCT and inflammatory cytokine levels.

Results

On multiple linear regression analysis, the AH interleukin (IL)-8 level was significantly associated with visual gain and CMT reduction at 6 months. Age, systemic hypertension, and AH monocyte chemo-attractant protein 1 level showed a significant association with baseline SCT, and VEGF-A showed a significant association with baseline SCT ratio (BRVO eye SCT/fellow eye SCT). Those with thick SCT showed a higher level of AH soluble VEGF receptors 2 and IL-8 and showed better visual gain and greater CMT reduction at 2 and 6 months compared to the thin SCT group.

Conclusions

The level of AH inflammatory cytokines was significantly associated with the ischemic status of the retina, treatment outcomes, and SCT in BRVO ME patients. Thick baseline SCT might be a predictive sign for better treatment outcomes in BRVO ME patients which are thought to be related to a higher level of intraocular inflammatory cytokines in these patients.

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Data availability

The datasets generated during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon request.

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Funding

This research was supported by Hallym University Research Fund 2018 (HURF-2018-33), Korean Association of Retinal Degeneration, and Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Science and ICT (2018R1A2B6007809).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ophthalmology, Kangdong Sacred Heart Hospital, Hallym University College of Medicine, #150 Seongan-ro, Gangdong-gu, Seoul, 05355, South Korea

    Yerim An, Sung Pyo Park & Yong-Kyu Kim

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  1. Yerim An
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  2. Sung Pyo Park
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  3. Yong-Kyu Kim
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Contributions

SPP, Y-KK contributed to study design. YA, Y-KK contributed to data acquisition and analysis. YA, Y-KK contributed to manuscript drafting. YA, SPP, Y-KK contributed to review and approval of the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yong-Kyu Kim.

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Conflict of interest

The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.

Ethics approval

The study protocol was approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of Kangdong Sacred Heart Hospital (IRB no.2017-09-014) and adhered to the tenets of the Declaration of Helsinki.

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Informed consent was obtained from all patients before study inclusion.

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An, Y., Park, S.P. & Kim, YK. Aqueous humor inflammatory cytokine levels and choroidal thickness in patients with macular edema associated with branch retinal vein occlusion. Int Ophthalmol 41, 2433–2444 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10792-021-01798-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10792-021-01798-x

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