Intra-arterial Thrombolysis for Severe Recent Central Retinal Vein Occlusion

Overview

Central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) is a common cause of vision loss, typically affecting individuals during the fifth through seventh decade of life. Eyes with severe CRVO have a poor visual prognosis because current treatments address only secondary complications of CRVO without treating its cause. Intra-ophthalmic artery injection of a small dose of t-PA (clot busting medicine), also called intra-ophthalmic artery thrombolysis, may reopen the central retinal vein-and address the cause of the disease- without exposing the subject to the risks of systemic thrombolysis. Our project aims to evaluate the safety and efficacy of intra-ophthalmic artery thrombolysis in subjects with CRVO.

1. Study hypothesis: Injection of t-PA, a thrombolytic drug (clot busting medicine)into the ophthalmic artery (the blood vessel feeding the eye), in patients with recent severe central retinal vein occlusion, may reopen the central retinal vein and improve retinal blood flow, which may in turn improve visual acuity and prevent the long-term complications of the disease. 2. Experimental intervention: An outpatient procedure during which the ophthalmic artery is selective catheterized (with a small plastic tube called a microcatheter introduced from the artery of the leg) and infused with t-PA during two hours.

Conditions