Pre-Existing RPE Atrophy and Defects in the External Limiting Membrane Predict Early Poor Visual Response to Ranibizumab in Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to identify the rate of early visual acuity poor responders in patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD) after the first intravitreal injection of ranibizumab (Lucentis; Genentech, South San Francisco, CA) and to determine potential predictors for early response. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients with choroidal neovascularization secondary to AMD were evaluated before and 1 month after their first ranibizumab treatment. Early poor responders were defined as eyes gaining less than five letters 1 month after the first injection. RESULTS: Following the first ranibizumab injection, 58% of 84 patients gained five or more letters. Beyond 42% poor responders, 31% displayed foveal retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) atrophy and 89% a loss of the external limiting membrane (ELM) integrity at baseline. However, the amount of intraand subretinal fluid, pigment epithelial detachment (PED), and subfoveal fibrosis showed a similar distribution between gainers and poor responders. CONCLUSION: Early poor responders present with more RPE atrophy, as well as a loss of the ELM integrity at baseline optical coherence tomography.