Subfoveal choroidal thickness after brolucizumab therapy for neovascular age-related macular degeneration: a short-term multicenter study

Numerous population-based studies of age-related macular degeneration have been reported around the world, with the results of some studies suggesting racial or ethnic differences in disease prevalence. Integrating these resources to provide summarised data to establish worldwide prevalence and to project the number of people with age-related macular degeneration from 2020 to 2040 would be a useful guide for global strategies. We did a systematic literature review to identify all population-based studies of age-related macular degeneration published before May, 2013. Only studies using retinal photographs and standardised grading classifications (the Wisconsin age-related maculopathy grading system, the international classification for age-related macular degeneration, or the Rotterdam staging system) were included. Hierarchical Bayesian approaches were used to estimate the pooled prevalence, the 95% credible intervals (CrI), and to examine the difference in prevalence by ethnicity (European, African, Hispanic, Asian) and region (Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, North America, and Oceania). UN World Population Prospects were used to project the number of people affected in 2014 and 2040. Bayes factor was calculated as a measure of statistical evidence, with a score above three indicating substantial evidence. Analysis of 129,664 individuals (aged 30-97 years), with 12,727 cases from 39 studies, showed the pooled prevalence (mapped to an age range of 45-85 years) of early, late, and any age-related macular degeneration to be 8.01% (95% CrI 3.98-15.49), 0.37% (0.18-0.77), and 8.69% (4.26-17.40), respectively. We found a higher prevalence of early and any age-related macular degeneration in Europeans than in Asians (early: 11.2% vs 6.8%, Bayes factor 3.9; any: 12.3% vs 7.4%, Bayes factor 4.3), and early, late, and any age-related macular degeneration to be more prevalent in Europeans than in Africans (early: 11.2% vs 7.1%, Bayes factor 12.2; late: 0.5% vs 0.3%, 3.7; any: 12.3% vs 7.5%, 31.3). There was no difference in prevalence between Asians and Africans (all Bayes factors <1). Europeans had a higher prevalence of geographic atrophy subtype (1.11%, 95% CrI 0.53-2.08) than Africans (0.14%, 0.04-0.45), Asians (0.21%, 0.04-0.87), and Hispanics (0.16%, 0.05-0.46). Between geographical regions, cases of early and any age-related macular degeneration were less prevalent in Asia than in Europe and North America (early: 6.3% vs 14.3% and 12.8% [Bayes factor 2.3 and 7.6]; any: 6.9% vs 18.3% and 14.3% [3.0 and 3.8]). No significant gender effect was noted in prevalence (Bayes factor <1.0). The projected number of people with age-related macular degeneration in 2020 is 196 million (95% CrI 140-261), increasing to 288 million in 2040 (205-399). These estimates indicate the substantial global burden of age-related macular degeneration. Summarised data provide information for understanding the effect of the condition and provide data towards designing eye-care strategies and health services around the world. National Medical Research Council, Singapore. Copyright © 2014 Wong et al. Open Access article distributed under the terms of CC BY-NC-ND. Published by .. All rights reserved.

Ranibizumab--a recombinant, humanized, monoclonal antibody Fab that neutralizes all active forms of vascular endothelial growth factor A--has been evaluated for the treatment of neovascular age-related macular degeneration. In this multicenter, 2-year, double-blind, sham-controlled study, we randomly assigned patients with age-related macular degeneration with either minimally classic or occult (with no classic lesions) choroidal neovascularization to receive 24 monthly intravitreal injections of ranibizumab (either 0.3 mg or 0.5 mg) or sham injections. The primary end point was the proportion of patients losing fewer than 15 letters from baseline visual acuity at 12 months. We enrolled 716 patients in the study. At 12 months, 94.5% of the group given 0.3 mg of ranibizumab and 94.6% of those given 0.5 mg lost fewer than 15 letters, as compared with 62.2% of patients receiving sham injections (P<0.001 for both comparisons). Visual acuity improved by 15 or more letters in 24.8% of the 0.3-mg group and 33.8% of the 0.5-mg group, as compared with 5.0% of the sham-injection group (P<0.001 for both doses). Mean increases in visual acuity were 6.5 letters in the 0.3-mg group and 7.2 letters in the 0.5-mg group, as compared with a decrease of 10.4 letters in the sham-injection group (P<0.001 for both comparisons). The benefit in visual acuity was maintained at 24 months. During 24 months, presumed endophthalmitis was identified in five patients (1.0%) and serious uveitis in six patients (1.3%) given ranibizumab. Intravitreal administration of ranibizumab for 2 years prevented vision loss and improved mean visual acuity, with low rates of serious adverse events, in patients with minimally classic or occult (with no classic lesions) choroidal neovascularization secondary to age-related macular degeneration. (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00056836 [ClinicalTrials.gov].). Copyright 2006 Massachusetts Medical Society.

To begin a process of standardizing the methods for reporting clinical data in the field of uveitis. Consensus workshop. Members of an international working group were surveyed about diagnostic terminology, inflammation grading schema, and outcome measures, and the results used to develop a series of proposals to better standardize the use of these entities. Small groups employed nominal group techniques to achieve consensus on several of these issues. The group affirmed that an anatomic classification of uveitis should be used as a framework for subsequent work on diagnostic criteria for specific uveitic syndromes, and that the classification of uveitis entities should be on the basis of the location of the inflammation and not on the presence of structural complications. Issues regarding the use of the terms "intermediate uveitis," "pars planitis," "panuveitis," and descriptors of the onset and course of the uveitis were addressed. The following were adopted: standardized grading schema for anterior chamber cells, anterior chamber flare, and for vitreous haze; standardized methods of recording structural complications of uveitis; standardized definitions of outcomes, including "inactive" inflammation, "improvement'; and "worsening" of the inflammation, and "corticosteroid sparing," and standardized guidelines for reporting visual acuity outcomes. A process of standardizing the approach to reporting clinical data in uveitis research has begun, and several terms have been standardized.