Effectiveness of Anti-VEGF Treatments in Wet AMD in Active Smokers

Overview

" Wet Age-related Macular Degeneration (wet AMD)" is characterized by the appearance of new choroidal vessels. Several clinical studies have shown the effectiveness of intra-vitreous injections of anti-VEGF (bevacizumab, ranibizumab and aflibercept) against these choroidal neovessels. However, some eyes appear to respond less well or be resistant to anti-VEGF injections, which affects visual acuity. To improve the clinical management of patients with wet AMD, it is important to be able to determine which factors determine the response to anti-VEGF treatment. Non-modifiable factors such as visual acuity or the patient's age at the time of the first injections, the type and size of choroidal neovascularization, as well as certain genetic polymorphisms are known. Two studies, one carried out in Korean patients, the other in different centers in Singapore, New Zealand, Australia and Switzerland showed that active smoking was associated with a poorer response to intra-vitreous injections of ranibizumab, since smoking is also an already well-known modifiable risk factor for the onset of AMD. Another study in the Netherlands shows a poorer visual prognosis after five years of injection treatment in patients who smoke. This study aims to study the effect of active smoking on the visual prognosis of patients with exudative AMD and treated with anti-VEGF injections in a Belgian cohort.

Conditions

Interventions