The Effect of Intravitreal Ranibizumab on the Fellow Untreated Eye with Subfoveal Scarring due to Exudative Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Aim: Our purpose was to evaluate the possible effect of intravitreal ranibizumab on the fellow untreated eye with choroidal neovascularization (CNV) and subfoveal scarring associated with age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Methods: A retrospective observational study was conducted. One hundred eighty-seven ranibizumab-treated patients diagnosed as having subfoveal CNV scarring in the untreated eye were compared with a control group of untreated unilateral subfoveal CNV scarring. Inclusion criteria concerning treated eyes in the ranibizumab group complied with the MARINA and ANCHOR studies. Demographic data, clinical course, visual acuity, fluorescein angiography and optical coherence tomography findings were evaluated. Results: Clinical improvement was confirmed in 24% of the patients in the ranibizumab group and in only 12.9% of the controls. Improvement was noted as early as 2–4 months (2.83 ± 0.75 months) after the initiation of treatment in the fellow eye compared with 33.25 ± 9.43 months in the control group (p = 0.01; Mann-Whitney U test). Kaplan-Meier curves demonstrate the positive impact of ranibizumab on the visual acuity of the fellow untreated eye (p = 0.016; Log-Rank test). Conclusions: Ranibizumab might induce some therapeutic effect in selected cases of end-stage CNV scarring, which needs to be further examined. The VEGF levels in the compartments of the fellow eye of patients with age-related macular degeneration treated with ranibizumab need to be further evaluated.