A RANDOMIZED PILOT STUDY OF SYSTEMIC IMMUNOSUPPRESSION IN THE TREATMENT OF AGE-RELATED MACULAR DEGENERATION WITH CHOROIDAL NEOVASCULARIZATION

摘要

BackgroundAge-related macular degeneration remains the leading cause of irreversible blindness in the United States and the developed world. Intravitreal injections of anti–vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) medications have become standard of care for the treatment of the wet form of the disease. Recent reports have demonstrated an association with various immune factors. We aimed to investigate the effect of immunosuppressive therapy in the clinical course of the wet form of the disease. We compared anti-VEGF therapy plus one of three systemic immunosuppressive therapies versus anti-VEGF therapy alone for recurrent choroidal neovascularization associated with age-related macular degeneration.