Changes in Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer Thickness after Multiple Injections of Novel VEGF Decoy Receptor Conbercept for Various Retinal Diseases.

Abstract

Conbercept is a recombinant fusion protein with high affinity for all vascular endothelial growth factor isoforms and placental growth factor. The repeated intravitreal injection of conbercept may cause intraocular pressure (IOP) fluctuations and long-term suppression of neurotrophic cytokines, which could lead to retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) damage. This retrospective fellow-eye controlled study included 98 eyes of 49 patients. The changes in IOP and RNFL thickness as well as the correlation between RNFL changes and associated factors were evaluated. The IOP value between the baseline and the last follow-up visit in the injection group and the IOP value of the last follow-up visit between the injection and non-injection groups were not significantly different (p = 0.452 and 0.476, respectively). The global average thickness of the RNFL (μm) in the injection group decreased from 108.9 to 106.1; however, the change was not statistically significant (p = 0.118). No significant difference in the average RNFL thickness was observed at the last follow-up visit between the injection and non-injection groups (p = 0.821). The type of disease was the only factor associated with RNFL thickness changes. In conclusion, repeated intravitreal injections with 0.05 mL conbercept revealed an excellent safety profile for RNFL thickness, although short-term IOP changes were observed.

• Authors: Zhihua Zhang, Xiaolu Yang, Huiyi Jin, Yuan Qu, Yuan Zhang, Kun Liu, Xun Xu
• Journal: Scientific reports (Sci Rep) Vol. 6 Pg. 38326 (12 06 2016) ISSN: 2045-2322 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 27922068 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)

Chemical References

• Angiogenesis Inhibitors
• Recombinant Fusion Proteins
• KH902 fusion protein
• Receptors, Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor

Topics

• Aged
• Angiogenesis Inhibitors (administration & dosage)
• Diabetic Retinopathy (drug therapy, genetics, metabolism, pathology)
• Drug Administration Schedule
• Female
• Gene Expression
• Humans
• Intraocular Pressure (drug effects)
• Intravitreal Injections
• Macular Degeneration (drug therapy, genetics, metabolism, pathology)
• Macular Edema (drug therapy, genetics, metabolism, pathology)
• Male
• Middle Aged
• Nerve Fibers (drug effects)
• Optic Nerve (drug effects)
• Receptors, Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (antagonists & inhibitors, genetics, metabolism)
• Recombinant Fusion Proteins (administration & dosage)
• Retinal Neovascularization (genetics, metabolism, pathology, prevention & control)
• Retrospective Studies
• Tomography, Optical Coherence