Advances in the Medical Treatment of Diabetic Retinopathy

A special issue of Pharmaceutics (ISSN 1999-4923). This special issue belongs to the section "Drug Targeting and Design".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 May 2022) | Viewed by 2700

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Endocrinology Department, Vall d’Hebron University Hospital, Diabetes and Metabolism Research Unit, Vall d’Hebron Research Institute (VHIR), ans CIBERDEM (ISCIII), 08035 Barcelona, Spain
Interests: diabetic complications; technological advances in diabetes care

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Diabetic retinopathy is a prevalent diabetic complication with important social and budgetary repercussions. Treatments such as intravitreal injections and laser photocoagulation are focused on the late stages of the disease, but there is no specific treatment for the early stages. Moreover, in advanced retinal disease, when a diabetic macular edema is present, the response to intravitreal injections, which are invasive, is heterogeneous, and more personalized medicine is needed. New approaches and new therapeutic targets, as well as new drug delivery forms in diabetic retinopathy treatment, have arisen in recent years.

The aim of this Special Issue of Pharmaceutics is to compile  high-quality papers related to the medical treatment of diabetic retinopathy (clinical or experimental), with especial emphasis on the early stages of the disease. Papers (review articles or original research) focusing on new therapeutic targets, new drug delivery forms or a personalized management of diabetic retinopathy will be welcome in this Special Issue.

Dr. Olga Simó-Servat
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • diabetic retinopathy
  • diabetic macular edema
  • neurovascular unit
  • treatment of diabetics

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

13 pages, 686 KiB  
Article
Efficacy and Safety of Intravitreal Fluocinolone Acetonide Implant for Chronic Diabetic Macular Edema Previously Treated in Real-Life Practice: The REALFAc Study
by Thibaud Mathis, Maxence Papegaey, Cécile Ricard, Amina Rezkallah, Frédéric Matonti, Aditya Sudhalkar, Cristina Vartin, Corinne Dot and Laurent Kodjikian
Pharmaceutics 2022, 14(4), 723; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics14040723 - 28 Mar 2022
Cited by 17 | Viewed by 2379
Abstract
Diabetic macular edema (DME) is the main cause of visual impairment in diabetic patients and a chronic disease requiring long-term treatments. The fluocinolone acetonide (FAc) implant has recently been approved to treat DME in patients considered insufficiently responsive to available therapies. This study [...] Read more.
Diabetic macular edema (DME) is the main cause of visual impairment in diabetic patients and a chronic disease requiring long-term treatments. The fluocinolone acetonide (FAc) implant has recently been approved to treat DME in patients considered insufficiently responsive to available therapies. This study evaluates the functional and anatomical efficacy of the FAc implant in real-life practice. A total of 62 eyes with chronic DME were included and followed for a mean of 13.9 (+7.5) months. Previous treatment included at least anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in 83.9% of eyes, dexamethasone implant (DEX-I) in 100% of eyes, vitrectomy in 29.0% of eyes, and laser photocoagulation (either panretinal or focal photocoagulation) in 75.8% of eyes. The mean baseline best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was 64.0 (+/−17.2) letters (median: 67.5 letters) with a mean DME duration of 60.3 (+/−30.6) months. The maximum BCVA gain occurred at 21 months with a mean gain of 5.0 (+/−12.7) letters. A total of 50.0% of eyes gained ≥5 letters during follow-up. Patients with lower BCVA at baseline had the lowest final BCVA (p < 0.001) but the highest BCVA gain (p = 0.02). The best overall improvement in mean central macular thickness (CMT) occurred at 18 months (p < 0.0001). The improvement in BCVA was inversely associated with the decrease in CMT and showed a decrease when CMT increased (DME recurrence). According to the history of vitrectomy, we did not find any significant difference in mean final BCVA (p = 0.1) and mean BCVA gain (p = 0.2) between eyes previously vitrectomized or not. A total of 23 eyes (37.1%) required additional treatment for DME, and 17.7% required an IOP-lowering procedure during follow-up. In conclusion, this real-life observational study demonstrated the efficacy and safety of the FAc implant in patients with chronic DME already treated with other available therapies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in the Medical Treatment of Diabetic Retinopathy)
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