Abstract
Purpose
To evaluate the effects of intravitreal bevacizumab and to investigate the concentrations of cytokine in the aqueous humors of patients with macular edema secondary to hemicentral retinal venous occlusion.
Methods
Fifteen eyes of 15 patients with macular edema secondary to hemicentral retinal venous occlusion received intravitreal bevacizumab injections and completed 12 months of followup. Cytokine levels were measured in the aqueous humors of these patients using a multiplex bead assay and the levels were compared with those of the controls.
Results
During 12 months of followup, a mean of 4.5 intravitreal bevacizumab injections were performed. The visual acuity and the central macular thickness improved significantly (p = 0.028, p = 0.000) after treatment. The levels of inter-leukin-6, vascular endothelial growth factor, and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 were increased in the aqueous humor compared with the levels in the control group (p = 0.010, p = 0.045, p < 0.001).
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Figure 1.
Right eye of a 74-year-old man treated with intravitreal bevacizumab (A) Fundus photograph presenting hemi-retinal venous occlusion. (B) Fluorescein angiography showing no neovasculization or extensive non-perfusion areas. Aqueous VEGF level was 65.98 pg/mL and MCP-1 was 1058.33 pg/mL. (C) Optical coherence tomography at baseline. His visual acuity was 20/100. (D) 2 months after initial intravitreal bevacizumab, optical coherence tomography showed persistant macular edema. The second intravitreal bevacizumab was performed. (E) At month 4, the third intravitreal bevacizumab was performed. (F) At month 6, his visual acuity improved to 20/40 and the macula was stable up to 12 months.
![jkos-52-293f1.tif](/upload/SynapseXML/0035jkos/thumb/jkos-52-293f1.gif)
Figure 2.
Correlation analysis of the vascular endothelial growth factor in aqueous humor and the central macular thickness in patient with hemicentral retinal vein occlusion (Pearson correlation, r = 0.413; p = 0.047).
![jkos-52-293f2.tif](/upload/SynapseXML/0035jkos/thumb/jkos-52-293f2.gif)
Figure 3.
Correlation analysis of the monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 and vascular endothelial growth factor in aqueous humor in patient with hemicentral retinal vein occlusion (Pearson correlation, r = 0.509; p = 0.031).
![jkos-52-293f3.tif](/upload/SynapseXML/0035jkos/thumb/jkos-52-293f3.gif)
Table 1.
Aqueous humor levels of cytokines in eyes with hemicentral retinal venous occlusion and controls
Cytokines | Patients (n = 15) | Controls (n = 10) | p-value∗ |
---|---|---|---|
IL-6 (Mean ± SD) | 8.3 ± 5.5 | 2.0 ± 1.3 | 0.010 |
IL-8 (Mean ± SD) | 5.8 ± 6.0 | 2.8 ± 1.5 | 0.051 |
VEGF (Mean ± SD) | 64.1 ± 39.4 | 36.5 ± 16.5 | 0.045 |
MCP-1 (Mean ± SD) | 1,214.3 ± 476.5 | 412.2 ± 98.4 | <0.001 |
PDGF-AA (Mean ± SD) | 36.1 ± 19.9 | 32.8 ± 6.8 | 0.127 |
Data presented as the mean ± standard deviation (pg/mL). IL-10, IFN-γ, PDGF-AB/BB and TNF-α were not presented because the levels were near to or below the limits of detection. IL=interleukin; VEGF=vascular endothelial growth factor; PDGF=platelet-derived growth factor; MCP=monocyte chemoattractant protein.