gms | German Medical Science

Purpose: To assess the safety of intravitreally-applied epidermal growth factor (EGF).

Methods: The clinical interventional, prospective, single-center, case-series study included patients with age-related macular degeneration-related geographic atrophy (GA), in whom the eye with the worse best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) underwent a single, or repeated, intravitreal injection of EGF (0.75µg in 50µL). At baseline and afterwards, the eyes underwent ophthalmological examinations.

Results: The study included 7 patients (mean age: 70.0±12.2 years (range: 54–86 years), with 5 patients receiving a single injection, and two patients receiving two intravitreal injections in an interval of 4 weeks. Mean duration of follow-up was 97±97 days (median: 35 days;range: 7–240 days). Mean BCVA was lower at baseline than at study end (1.41±0.44 logMAR versus 0.97±0.12 logMAR;P=0.03). Mean size of the GA lesions did neither differ significantly between baseline and study end (29,212±22,887 pixels versus 29,300±22,905 pixels;P=0.59) nor did the mean perimetric mean defect (-10.3±5.9dB versus 12.0±8.8dB;P=0.35) or the electroretinographical b-wave amplitude (44.53±31.7µV versus 64.5±25.5µV;P=0.12). After a second injection 4 weeks after the first injection, one of two patients developed a cystoid macular edema in association with an induced incomplete posterior vitreous detachment. It persisted for three weeks. Visual acuity in this eye improved from 1.0 LogMAR at baseline to 0.80 LogMAR at study end.

Conclusions: Except for one eye with temporary, self-resolving cystoid macular edema, single and repeated intravitreal applications of EGF (0.75 µg) in patients with GA did not lead to intraocular inflammations or any observed intraocular side effect.