Intervallverkürzungen der photodynamischen Therapie (PDT) bei altersbedingter Makuladegeneration (AMD) bringen keine Vorteile

Purpose. To find out if carrying out PDT again 6 weeks after initial PDT will improve the results at 3 months. Methods. A total of 22 eyes were treated according to the dose regimen proposed by the TAP study. Results. After the first PDT, the CNV remained permanently closed in 14% of the eyes. Repeating the treatment 6 weeks later did not lead to permanent closure of more CNVs or a diminished size at 3 months. Short-term re-treatment had no substantial effect on the underlying choriocapillaries. Visual acuity did not profit or suffer from early re-treatment. Conclusion. Shortening of the treatment interval has no serious side-effects, but does not seem to improve the results reported in the TAP study.