Faculty Bibliography

PURPOSE: To evaluate intravitreal injection of ranibizumab as a potential treatment for decreased visual acuity (VA) secondary to central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO). DESIGN: Prospective, interventional case series. METHODS: Patients with CRVO prospectively recruited from a practice were administered intravitreal ranibizumab 0.5 mg (Lucentis; Genentech Inc, South San Francisco, California, USA) at baseline and monthly for two additional doses. The patients were given additional ranibizumab if they had macular edema as determined by optical coherence tomography or any new intraretinal hemorrhage. Patients were evaluated for number of required injections, side effects, changes in VA, and macular thickness. RESULTS: There were 20 eyes of 20 patients who at baseline had a mean age of 72.1 years, a mean VA of 45.8 Early Treatment of Diabetic Retinopathy letters, and a mean central macular thickness of 574.6 microm. Of the 20 eyes, five previously had received intravitreal triamcinolone and 11 had received intravitreal bevacizumab (Avastin; Genentech Inc). At 12 months of follow-up, the mean VA improved to 64.3 letters and the central macular thickness decreased to 186 microm (both different than baseline values; P < .001) using a mean of 8.5 injections. The change in macular thickness was not correlated with the change in VA. In one patient with a history of transient ischemic attack, an ischemic stroke developed but no sequela resulted. In another patient, vitreomacular traction developed, but the patient had improved acuity as compared with baseline. There were no infections, retinal tears, or detachments. CONCLUSIONS: Intravitreal ranibizumab used over a period of one year improved mean VA, with low rates of adverse events, in patients with CRVO

Occult macular dystrophy is a rare macular disorder in which patients have bilaterally decreased visual acuity without any significant ophthalmoscopic findings. Using spectral domain optical coherence tomography, the authors found a defect in the junction between the inner and outer segments of the foveal photoreceptors in a patient with occult macular dystrophy

PURPOSE: To study patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD) who experienced a macular hemorrhage after stabilization with intravitreal antivascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) agents to improve current treatment regimens and prevent disease progression. METHODS: Retrospective chart review of six patients. The main outcome measures included time between last intravitreal anti-VEGF treatment and date of hemorrhage, time between last office visit and date of hemorrhage, and visual acuity before and after hemorrhage. RESULTS: Three of 6 eyes had a macular hemorrhage within 4 weeks of a stable examination. One eye had optical coherence tomography (OCT) that demonstrated no fluid 1 day before the macular hemorrhage. The average time between the date of the last injection and macular hemorrhage was 16.8 weeks (range, 7.3-28.9 weeks). The average time between the last stable examination and an event was 4.2 weeks (range, 1 day to 7.3 weeks). Three of six patients had a persistent decline in vision after the hemorrhage. Among the 4 patients, who had better than 20/200 vision before the macular hemorrhage, 2 dropped to 20/200 or worse. CONCLUSION: Sight-threatening macular hemorrhages from AMD can occur within days to weeks after a stable examination and absence of fluid on OCT. Regimens that treat 'as needed' based on clinical findings and OCT may not be appropriate for certain patients

PURPOSE: To measure macular choroidal thickness (CT) in highly myopic eyes using enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography (OCT). DESIGN: Retrospective, observational case series. METHODS: Enhanced depth imaging OCT images were obtained in highly myopic eyes (> or =6 diopters [D]). Images of CT were obtained by positioning a spectral-domain OCT device close enough to the eye to acquire an inverted image. CT was measured from the outer border of the retinal pigment epithelium to the inner scleral border at 1000-mum intervals of a horizontal section from 3 mm temporal to the fovea to 3 mm nasal to the fovea. Statistical analysis was performed to evaluate CT at each location and to correlate CT with age and refractive error. RESULTS: The mean age of the 31 patients (55 eyes) was 59.7 years (+/- 17.6 years; range, 24 to 90 years), and the mean refractive error was -11.9 D (+/- 3.7 D). The mean subfoveal CT was 93.2 microm (+/- 62.5 microm) and was correlated negatively with age (P = .006), refractive error (P < .001), and history of choroidal neovascularization (P = .013). Regression analysis suggested that subfoveal CT decreased by 12.7 mum for each decade of life and by 8.7 microm for each D of myopia. CONCLUSIONS: The choroid in highly myopic eyes is very thin and undergoes further thinning with increasing age and degree of myopia. Abnormalities of the choroid may play a role in the pathogenesis of myopic degeneration

PURPOSE: To report the autofluorescence features of congenital hypertrophy of the retinal pigment epithelium (CHRPE). METHODS: Four patients with CHRPE were evaluated using autofluorescence in a camera-based system. RESULTS: All CHRPE lesions studied had well demarcated borders and were hypoautofluorescent. Presence of a hypopigmented halo and lacunae did not alter the homogeneous hypofluorescence. CONCLUSION: Hypoautofluorescence confirmed the known absence of lipofuscin in the retinal pigment epithelium cells of CHRPE lesions. Autofluorescence imaging may provide useful information in evaluating pigmented lesions of the fundus.

BACKGROUND: Spontaneous scleral rupture in association with retinochoroidal coloboma is a rare and poorly understood event, with few reports in the literature. METHODS: Interventional case report. RESULTS: A 40-year-old man had a spontaneous decline in visual acuity with hypotony in the right eye. Photographic, fluorescein angiographic, optical coherence tomographic, ultrasonographic, and computed tomographic findings demonstrated that the cause was spontaneous rupture of ectatic sclera adjacent to a retinochoroidal coloboma. Surgical repair with primary suture imbrication and support with a segmental scleral buckle restored the intraocular pressure and baseline visual acuity. CONCLUSIONS: The adjacent but distinct locations of the retinochoroidal coloboma and ectatic sclera in this case suggest that during embryogenesis a full thickness defect was present in the eye wall, but due to differential growth rates, the scleral and retinochoroidal defects ceased to be superimposed. Persistent hypotony implies continued flow of liquefied vitreous or aqueous through the defect. Suture imbrication and scleral buckling can be a successful treatment option.

PURPOSE: To describe a method to obtain images of the choroid using conventional spectral-domain (SD) optical coherence tomography (OCT) and to evaluate choroidal thickness measurements using these images. DESIGN: Observational case series. METHODS: The images were obtained by positioning the SD OCT device close enough to the eye to obtain an inverted representation of the fundus in healthy volunteers who did not have pupillary dilation. Seven sections, each comprised of 100 averaged scans, were obtained within a 5- x 15-degree rectangle centered on the fovea. The choroidal thickness under the fovea in each image was measured by independent observers. RESULTS: The choroidal thickness could be evaluated in every subject's choroidal image. The mean choroidal thickness under the fovea was 318 microm in the right eye and 335 microm in the left eye. The choroidal thickness showed a high correlation in both eyes (r = 0.82; P < .001). The correlation between the measurements performed by the independent observers was highly significant (right eye, r = 0.93; left eye, r = 0.97; P < .001 for both). CONCLUSIONS: This method provides detailed, measurable images from the choroid, a structure that heretofore has been difficult to image in clinical practice.

PURPOSE: To examine the relationship between visual acuity and morphologic characteristics of macular holes as determined using spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD OCT). METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed of eyes with open and closed macular holes at a single, referral-based retina practice. The main outcome measures included best-corrected Snellen visual acuity and SD OCT findings, including the size of the macular hole and the disruption of the junction between inner segments (ISs) and outer segments (OSs) of the photoreceptors. RESULTS: The mean visual acuity for eyes with open (n = 24) and closed (n = 17) macular holes was 20/166 (range, 5/400 to 20/40) and 20/39 (range, 20/80 to 20/25), respectively. The mean macular hole diameter was 859 microm. A disruption of the IS-OS junction was observed in all eyes, and this disruption had a mean diameter of 1,947 microm in eyes with an open macular hole and 626 microm in those with a closed macular hole. There was a negative correlation between both the size of the macular hole (P < 0.001) and the IS-OS disruption (P = 0.01) and visual acuity in eyes with open macular holes. In eyes with closed macular hole, the size of the IS-OS disruption was not correlated with visual acuity (P = 0.82). CONCLUSIONS: The photoreceptor layer appears to be involved for a much larger area than that occupied by the macular hole itself. The abnormality in the IS-OS boundary line may reflect perturbation of a higher level of retinal organization and not an absolute loss of photoreceptor OSs