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The Efficacy of Intravitreal Aflibercept Injection in Improvement of Retinal Nonperfusion in Diabetic Retinopathy

The Efficacy of Intravitreal Aflibercept Injection in Improvement of Retinal Nonperfusion in Patients With Diabetic Retinopathy

Status
Completed
Phases
Phase 2
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT03006081
Enrollment
38
Registered
2016-12-30
Start date
2016-04-14
Completion date
2018-08-30
Last updated
2025-12-02

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Diabetic Retinopathy

Keywords

Retinal nonperfusion, Aflibercept

Brief summary

Retinal nonperfusion drives vision-threatening complications such as pathological neovascularization, which can lead to neovascular glaucoma, vitreous hemorrhage, or tractional retinal detachments and macular edema in diabetic retinopathy. Thus, decreasing nonperfusion area with aid of anti-VEGF agents might be a useful way to prevent deteriorating course of diabetic retinopathy. The main purpose of this study is to determine the efficacy of intravitreal aflibercept injection in improvement of retinal nonperfusion and identify associated factors in patients with nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy with moderate retinal nonperfusion.

Detailed description

Retinal nonperfusion drives vision-threatening complications such as pathological neovascularization, which can lead to neovascular glaucoma, vitreous hemorrhage, or tractional retinal detachments and macular edema in various retinal vascular diseases including diabetic retinopathy and retinal vein occlusion. Silva et al revealed that retinal nonperfusion area was correlated highly with diabetic retinopathy severity in their recent paper. It should be clarified that retinal nonperfusion is not synonymous with retinal ischemia, which implies tissue hypoxia, but is a useful surrogate. Retinal nonperfusion has known to be associated with the production of vascular endothelial factor (VEGF). Recently, Campochiaro et al reported that neutralization of VEGF using ranibizumab improved macular edema and reversed the worsening of retinal nonperfusion in patients with retinal vein occlusion and diabetic macular edema. The precise mechanism for improved perfusion in the VEGF treated eye is uncertain. The authors suggested that VEGF exacerbates retinal ischemia by increasing leukostasis, and intravitreal anti-VEGF agents may break the feedback loop, allowing reperfusion to occur. There might be a portion of circulation that is closed but not permanently, and this reversible closure is modulated by VEGF. The study by Campochiaro et al, however, was limited in that they reviewed retinal nonperfusion within a template consisting of the Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy subfields mainly confined to posterior pole of the fundus. Wide-field retinal imaging is an imaging technique that allows a view of almost 200° of the fundus in a single image. It has been well shown that wide-field scans allow the detection of peripheral pathology that may be missed on 75 degrees of achieved by montaging the Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study 7-standard fields. To investigators knowledge, there has been no previous study evaluating the longitudinal change of retinal nonperfusion after aflibercept treatment in a larger area of the retina by taking advantage of the 200° field of view in diabetic retinopathy. The main purpose of this study is to determine the efficacy of intravitreal aflibercept injection in improvement of retinal nonperfusion and identify associated factors in patients with nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy with moderate retinal nonperfusion.

Interventions

Six number of injections at baseline, 1M, 2M, 3M, 4M, and 5M

Sponsors

Asan Medical Center
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* A subject must meet the following criteria to be eligible for inclusion in the study: 1. Adults ≥ 18 years with type 1 or 2 diabetes mellitus 2. Patients diagnosed as nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy with retinal nonperfusion (Ischemic index \>20%) Severe nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy - Early proliferative diabetic retinopathy 3. Willing and able to comply with clinic visits and study-related procedures 4. Provide a signed informed consent form

Exclusion criteria

* A subject who meets any of the following criteria will be excluded from the study. 1. Systemic

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Improvement of retinal nonperfusion1 yearMean changes (%) of retinal nonperfusion (Ischemic index) from baseline

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
progression of diabetic retinopathy to proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR)1 yearNumber of patients who receive rescue treatment due to PDR and time to rescue treatment due to PDR
development of diabetic macular edema1 yearNumber of patients who receive rescue treatment due to DME and time to rescue treatment due to DME
Factors associated with the progression of retinal nonperfusion 2 (Anatomical)1 year\- Optical coherence tomography (OCT) parameters: Mean changes of Central Retinal Thickness (CRT) from baseline at every 3 month visit Mean changes of Central Retinal Volume from baseline at every 3 month visit Mean change subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFChT) from baseline at every 3 month visit
Factors associated with the progression of retinal nonperfusion 3 (Anatomical)1year\- Fluorescein angiography (FA) parameters: Baselinenonperfusion area(Ischemic index) at posterior and peripheral retina Baseline degree of vascular leakage at posterior and peripheral retina
Factors associated with the progression of retinal nonperfusion 1 (Functional)1 year\- Visual acuity parameters: Mean changes of BCVA from baseline at every 3 month visit The proportion of subjects with gaining / losing ≥ 15letters or more in BCVA

Other

MeasureTime frameDescription
Safety outcome; Adverse effect of intravitreal aflibercept (Eylea) injection1 yearOcular and systemic adverse event

Countries

South Korea

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 17, 2026