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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Med.
Sec. Ophthalmology
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmed.2025.1547977
This article is part of the Research Topic Updates in Ocular Therapeutics and Surgery - Volume IV View all 3 articles
Intravitreal aflibercept for diabetic macular edema: structural and functional improvements
Provisionally accepted
Chuanhe Zhang 1 Tianyu Chen 2 Ru Jia 3
Di Gong 4
Zhigao Liu 5 Changlong Wu 3
Xiangwen Shu 3 Fangju Han 3
Bin Gong 3*- 1 Jinan University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China
- 2 Wuxi No.2 People's Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, China
- 3 Jinan Second People’s Hospital, Jinan, China
- 4 Shenzhen Eye Hospital, Shenzhen, China
- 5 Aier Eye Hospital of Jinan, Jinan, Shandong Province, China
Introduction: The aim of this study was to evaluate the changes in macular structure and visual function of patients with diabetic macular edema (DME) after intravitreal aflibercept injection.Methods: Twenty-five patients (43 eyes) diagnosed with DME were included in this study. All patients underwent aflibercept monthly for three months. The study's endpoints included the best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), central retinal thickness (CRT), fovea avascular zone (FAZ) area, vessel density of superficial retinal capillary plexus (SVD), vessel density of deep retinal capillary plexus (DVD), mean light sensitivity (MLS), 2° fixation rate (P1) and 4° fixation rate (P2).Results: Before treatment and after the third treatment, the LogMAR BCVA was 0.69±0.27 and 0.40±0.18, the CRT was 471.10±159.93 μm and 319.84±113.51 μm, the MLS was 18.14±3.97 dB and 21.68±3.55 dB, P1 was 69 (47, 87)% and 88 (72, 92)%, and P2 was 90 (83, 97)% and 97 (93, 99)%, respectively. After treatment, CRT decreased, BVCA, MLS, and fixation stability improved (all P<0.001). Post-treatment, FAZ area, SVD, and DVD showed no significant changes (all P＞0.05). MLS was negatively correlated with LogMAR BCVA and CRT, and positively correlated with P1 and P2.Conclusions: In short term, aflibercept was effective in reducing CRT and improving BCVA, MLS, and fixation stability in DME patients.
Keywords: diabetic macular edema, Aflibercept, central retinal thickness, microperimetry, Sensitivity
Received: 19 Dec 2024; Accepted: 05 Feb 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zhang, Chen, Jia, Gong, Liu, Wu, Shu, Han and Gong. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Bin Gong, Jinan Second People’s Hospital, Jinan, China
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