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Pharmaceuticals
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Pharmacotherapy for Macular Diseases 2024
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Pharmacotherapy for Macular Diseases 2024

A special issue of Pharmaceuticals (ISSN 1424-8247). This special issue belongs to the section "Pharmacology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 February 2025) | Viewed by 6564

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Yoichi Sakurada

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Ophthalmology, University of Yamanashi, Chuo, Yamanashi 409-3898, Japan
Interests: macular disorders; genetics; pharmacogenetics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The macula plays an important role in central vision; once the macula is impaired and not appropriately treated, the extent of visual deterioration will be serious. The advent of anti-VEGF drugs greatly altered the treatment strategy for macular diseases, including neovascular age-related macular degeneration, myopic choroidal neovascularization, retinal vein occlusion, and diabetic macular edema. This Special Issue will provide new concepts, regimens, and drugs for the treatment of macular diseases. I am looking forward to receiving your submissions.

Dr. Yoichi Sakurada
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Pharmaceuticals is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • clinical ophthalmology
  • macular degeneration
  • retinal diseases

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Related Special Issue

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

11 pages, 2095 KiB  
Article
Short-Term Outcomes of Three Consecutive Monthly Loading Administrations of Aflibercept 8 Mg for Treatment-Naïve Exudative Age-Related Macular Degeneration
by Shuhei Hosoda, Yoichi Sakurada, Yoshiko Fukuda, Yumi Kotoda, Wataru Kikushima and Kenji Kashiwagi
Pharmaceuticals 2025, 18(3), 438; https://doi.org/10.3390/ph18030438 - 20 Mar 2025
Viewed by 592
Abstract
Background/Objectives: The aim was to investigate the short-term outcomes of three consecutive monthly aflibercept 8 mg administrations for treatment-naïve eyes with exudative age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Methods: Twenty-one eyes with exudative AMD were included (type 1 macular neovascularization: eleven eyes; type 2 macular [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: The aim was to investigate the short-term outcomes of three consecutive monthly aflibercept 8 mg administrations for treatment-naïve eyes with exudative age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Methods: Twenty-one eyes with exudative AMD were included (type 1 macular neovascularization: eleven eyes; type 2 macular neovascularization, four eyes; and polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV), six eyes). All eyes received three consecutive monthly administrations of aflibercept 8 mg (114.3 mg/mL) at an injection volume of 0.07 mL. Indocyanine green angiography (ICGA) was performed on eyes with PCV at baseline and at the 3-month visit. Results: The best-corrected visual acuity significantly (BCVA) improved from 0.31 ± 0.38 (baseline) to 0.25 ± 0.38 at the 3-month visits (p = 0.035). Dry macula achieved 62% and 100% at the 1-month and 3-month visits, respectively. Central retinal thickness and subfoveal choroidal thickness significantly decreased by 55.7% and 19.8%, from 341 ± 112 (baseline) to 190 ± 64 (3-month visits) and from 192 ± 50 (baseline) to 154 ± 51 (3-month visits), respectively (both p < 0.001). Complete regression of polypoidal lesions was seen in five (83.3%) eyes out of six on ICGA at the 3-month visit. No systemic adverse events were noted, and one eye developed a retinal pigment epithelial tear one month after the first injection. Conclusions: Three consecutive monthly administrations of aflibercept (8 mg) were safe and effective for resolving exudation and polyp regression, with significant BCVA improvement in treatment-naïve eyes with exudative AMD. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pharmacotherapy for Macular Diseases 2024)
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11 pages, 2582 KiB  
Article
Investigation of the Reproducibility of Portable Optical Coherence Tomography in Diabetic Macular Edema
by Yoshiaki Chiku, Takao Hirano, Marie Nakamura, Yoshiaki Takahashi, Hideki Miyasaka, Ken Hoshiyama and Toshinori Murata
Pharmaceuticals 2024, 17(10), 1357; https://doi.org/10.3390/ph17101357 - 11 Oct 2024
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Abstract
Background: Diabetic macular edema (DME) causes vision impairment and significant vision loss. Portable optical coherence tomography (OCT) has the potential to enhance the accessibility and frequency of DME screening, facilitating early diagnosis and continuous monitoring. This study aimed to evaluate the reliability of [...] Read more.
Background: Diabetic macular edema (DME) causes vision impairment and significant vision loss. Portable optical coherence tomography (OCT) has the potential to enhance the accessibility and frequency of DME screening, facilitating early diagnosis and continuous monitoring. This study aimed to evaluate the reliability of a portable OCT device (ACT100) in assessing DME compared with a traditional stationary OCT device (Cirrus 5000 HD-OCT plus). Methods: This prospective clinical investigation included 40 eyes of 33 patients with DME. Participants with significant refractive errors (myopia > −6.0 diopters or hyperopia > +3.0 diopters), vitreous hemorrhage, tractional retinal detachment, or other ocular diseases affecting imaging were excluded. Spectral-domain OCT was performed by a single examiner using both devices to capture macular volume scans under mydriasis. Central macular thickness (CMT) was evaluated using the analysis software for each device: Cirrus used version 6.0.4, and ACT100 used version V20. We analyzed inter-evaluator and inter-instrument agreements for qualitative assessments of the intraretinal fluid (IRF), subretinal fluid (SRF), and epiretinal membrane (ERM) using Cohen’s kappa coefficient, whereas quantitative CMT assessments were correlated using Spearman’s correlation coefficient. Results: Substantial inter-evaluator agreement for IRF/SRF (κ = 0.801) and ERM (κ = 0.688) with ACT100 and inter-instrument agreement (κ = 0.756 for IRF/SRF, κ = 0.684 for ERM) were observed. CMT values measured using ACT100 were on average 29.6 μm lower than that of Cirrus (285.8 ± 56.6 vs. 315.4 ± 84.7 μm, p < 0.0001) but showed a strong correlation (R = 0.76, p < 0.0001). Conclusions: ACT100 portable OCT demonstrated high reliability for DME evaluations, comparable to that of stationary systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pharmacotherapy for Macular Diseases 2024)
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15 pages, 2730 KiB  
Article
Intravitreal Dexamethasone Implant in Anti-Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Pretreated Diabetic Macular Edema—A Swiss Cohort Study
by Ferhat Turgut, Gábor M. Somfai, Christoph Tappeiner, Katja Hatz, Irmela Mantel, Aude Ambresin, Guy Donati, Viviane Guignard, Dana Nagyová, Isabel B. Pfister, Christine Schild and Justus G. Garweg
Pharmaceuticals 2024, 17(9), 1235; https://doi.org/10.3390/ph17091235 - 19 Sep 2024
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Abstract
Background/Objectives: Diabetic macular edema (DME) is a significant cause of visual impairment, often treated with anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) agents. However, some patients do not respond adequately to this treatment. This study aims to evaluate the contribution of the intravitreal dexamethasone (DEX) [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: Diabetic macular edema (DME) is a significant cause of visual impairment, often treated with anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) agents. However, some patients do not respond adequately to this treatment. This study aims to evaluate the contribution of the intravitreal dexamethasone (DEX) implant as a second-line treatment in DME patients with insufficient response to anti-VEGF therapy or with high treatment burden. Methods: This retrospective multicenter cohort study was conducted across seven clinical sites in Switzerland. The study included eyes with active DME that had been pretreated with anti-VEGF for at least six months before receiving DEX therapy. Data were extracted from electronic patient records, focusing on best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), central subfield thickness (CST), and injection frequency. Results: A total of 95 eyes from 89 patients (38.8% females, mean age 65.6 ± 9.1 years, follow-up time 80.6 ± 38.5 [13.5–166.7] months) were analyzed. Prior to the first DEX implant, eyes had undergone an average of 16.0 ± 13.3 anti-VEGF injections over 32.5 ± 22.4 months. Post-DEX treatment, 22.1% of eyes received DEX monotherapy, 44.2% received a combination of DEX and anti-VEGF, 25.3% continued with anti-VEGF monotherapy, and 8.4% received no further treatment. The number of anti-VEGF injections decreased significantly from 6.4 ± 3.1 in the year before DEX to 1.6 ± 2.4 in the year after DEX (p < 0.001). BCVA remained stable (0.4 ± 0.3 logMAR at baseline, 0.4 ± 0.5 logMAR at 24 months, p = 0.2), while CST improved from 477.7 ± 141.0 to 320.4 ± 125.5 μm (p < 0.001), and the presence of retinal fluid decreased from 98.0% to 61.1% (p = 0.021). During follow-up, 26.3% of eyes required glaucoma medication, 4.2% underwent glaucoma surgery, and 1.1% needed cataract surgery. Conclusions: In real-world clinical settings, the addition of DEX to anti-VEGF therapy in DME patients significantly reduces treatment burden and retinal fluid while maintaining visual function. Treatment decisions should balance anatomical and functional outcomes, considering individual patient needs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pharmacotherapy for Macular Diseases 2024)
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