To assess prospectively a treat-and-extend (TREX) management strategy compared with monthly dosing of intravitreal ranibizumab in treatment-naïve neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD) patients. Phase IIIb, multicenter, randomized, controlled clinical trial. Sixty patients with treatment-naïve neovascular AMD randomized 1:2 to monthly or TREX management. Patients with Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) from 20/32 to 20/500 (Snellen equivalent) were randomized to receive intravitreal 0.5 mg ranibizumab monthly or according to a TREX protocol. The TREX patients were treated monthly for at least 3 doses, until resolution of clinical and spectral-domain optical coherence tomography evidence of exudative disease activity; the interval between visits then was individualized according to a strict prospective protocol. Mean ETDRS BCVA change from baseline. At baseline, mean age was 77 years (range, 59-96 years), mean BCVA was 20/60 (Snellen equivalent), and mean central retinal thickness (CRT) was 511 μm. Fifty-seven eyes (95%) completed month 12, at which point mean BCVA improved by 9.2 and 10.5 letters in the monthly and TREX cohorts, respectively (P = 0.60). The mean number of injections administered through month 12 was 13.0 and 10.1 (range, 7-13) in the monthly and TREX cohorts, respectively (P < 0.0001). Among TREX patients, 7 (18%) were maximally extended, 4 (10%) demonstrated fluid at every visit, and at month 12, 18 (45%) had achieved an extension interval of 8 weeks or more; the mean maximum extension interval between injections after the first 3 monthly doses was 8.4 weeks (range, 4-12 weeks). Most TREX patients who demonstrated recurrent exudative disease activity (17/24 [71%]) were unable to extend beyond their initial maximum extension interval. The TREX neovascular AMD management strategy used in this prospective, randomized, controlled trial resulted in visual and anatomic gains comparable with those obtained with monthly dosing.

Purpose: Increasing drusen volume was proposed to be a predictor of disease progression in age-related macular degeneration (AMD). In patients with late AMD in one eye, the fellow eyes without neovascularization are known to be at higher risk of developing exudative AMD. We evaluated the relationship between drusen volume in these fellow eyes and their progression to late AMD. Methods: A retrospective analysis included fellow eyes with drusen associated with nonexudative AMD. All eyes with neovascular AMD were treated with intravitreal ranibizumab, aflibercept, and/or bevacizumab and followed for 2 years. All eyes were scanned with the Cirrus HD-OCT using a 512 × 128 scan pattern. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) data at baseline, month 12, and month 24 were collected using the advanced RPE analysis tool to quantify drusen volume within 3- and 5-mm-diameter circles centered on the fovea. Optical coherence tomography scans were also evaluated for the development of geographic atrophy (GA) or macular neovascularization (MNV). Results: Eighty-nine patients who had neovascular AMD in only one eye were studied. Optical coherence tomography drusen volume in the absence of MNV could be measured in 61 participants (68.5%). After 12 months, 4 eyes (4.5%) developed MNV and 15 eyes (16.9%) developed GA. By 24 months of follow-up, an additional 5 eyes (7.1%) developed MNV and an additional 10 eyes (14.3%) developed GA. At month 24, the eyes that developed GA or MNV had baseline drusen volumes that were significantly larger than in eyes that did not develop late AMD. Patients with a drusen volume over 0.03 mm³ had a greater than 4-fold increased risk for developing late AMD compared with those with lower drusen volumes. Conclusions: Baseline drusen volume appears to be an important predictor for the development of late AMD within 2 years in eyes that have fellow eyes being actively treated for MNV. This suggests that OCT-derived drusen volume measurements may be a useful biomarker to identify eyes at the highest risk for progression to late AMD.

To evaluate a prospective treat-and-extend (TREX) management strategy compared with monthly dosing with intravitreal ranibizumab (Lucentis) in neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Prospective, randomized, multicenter clinical trial. Sixty patients with treatment-naïve neovascular AMD randomized 1:2 to monthly or TREX cohorts. Patients with Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) of 20/32 to 20/500 (Snellen equivalent) were randomized to receive intravitreal 0.5 mg ranibizumab monthly or, according to a TREX protocol, no less frequently than every 12 weeks. After interval extension, if recurrent exudative disease was identified, this maximum interval between treatments was rechallenged according to a strict prospective protocol. Change in ETDRS BCVA from baseline. Sixty patients were enrolled and 50 completed month 24, at which point mean ETDRS BCVA letter gains were similar: 10.5 and 8.7 for the monthly and TREX cohorts, respectively (P = 0.64). At month 24, 4 patients (20%) and 12 patients (30%) in the monthly and TREX cohorts, respectively, gained at least 15 letters (P = 0.41). No monthly cohort patient lost more than 2 letters, whereas 5 TREX cohort patients (13%) lost at least 15 letters. Anatomic improvements were similar between the cohorts. Through month 24, the mean number of injections administered was 25.5 (range, 22-27) and 18.6 (range, 10-25) for the monthly and TREX cohorts, respectively (P < 0.001). Among TREX patients completing month 24, 14 (47%) were at an extension interval of 8 weeks or more, and the mean maximum tolerated extension was 8.5 weeks over the course of 2 years. Of the 26 TREX patients (65%) who demonstrated recurrent exudation upon interval extension, the first maximum extension interval was consistent in most eyes (n = 19 [73%]). The TREX neovascular AMD management protocol used with ranibizumab in the Treat-and-Extend Protocol in Patients with Wet Age-Related Macular Degeneration (TREX-AMD) study resulted in visual and anatomic gains comparable with those obtained with monthly dosing, and most patients randomized to TREX therapy demonstrated a relatively consistent maximum extension interval.

Purpose: To test the validity of ocular surface assessment tools offered by a corneal topographer (Oculus Keratograph 5M). Methods: Over 9 months, 296 eyes were imaged and divided into 2 groups: ocular surface disease (OSD) group (223 eyes) with clinically diagnosed meibomian gland dysfunction or dry eye syndrome and control group (73 eyes). All eyes were imaged using the noninvasive Keratograph tear breakup time (NIKBUT), tear meniscus height (TMH), and meibography tools of the Oculus K5M. Traditional methods using fluorescein staining were used to measure tear breakup and meniscus height. Meibography images were graded using the hand tracing method and a novel blue boundary method. Results: Oculus TMH values were statistically significantly higher in the OSD group than the control group (0.4:0.3 mm, P < 0.001), whereas traditional fluorescein values were higher in the control group (0.4:0.2 mm, P < 0.01). Oculus NIKBUT values were not statistically significantly different between the OSD and control groups (6.7:8.2 seconds, P = 0.69), whereas fluorescein breakup time values were statistically significantly higher in the control group (6.7:5.6 seconds, P < 0.05). The meibography hand tracing method showed higher sensitivity between the control group and glandular atrophy (17%:28%, P < 0.05), whereas the blue boundary method showed higher reproducibility (6.9%:23.8%, P < 0.001). Conclusions: The Oculus K5M can provide automated measurements of tear film dynamics and meibography images without using fluorescein or cobalt blue light. However, the automated TMH and NIKBUT were not in agreement with traditional measurements using fluorescein staining. Meibography highlights glandular architecture, which can be used to analyze glandular density and glandular atrophy.