Examination of Inner Retinal Layers in Unilateral Wet Age-Related Macular Degeneration Treated with Anti-VEGF, Compared to Fellow Untreated Eyes

The main aim of this study was to characterize the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) and ganglion cell layer (GCL) thickness in the macular area eyes affected by wet age-related macular degeneration (wAMD) treated with anti-VEGF and compare the results with the control of fellow untreated eyes affected by early stages of dry age-related macular degeneration (dAMD). Additionally, we aimed to estimate if the number of injections received and other factors, including age, best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), or sex, may affect the differences in the obtained measurements of retinal nerve fiber layer thickness. We prospectively included 106 eyes of 53 patients with unilateral wet age-related macular degeneration. The fellow eyes with non-advanced dry age-related macular degeneration served as a control group in a cross-sectional study. RNFL and GCL in the macular region were evaluated using optical coherence tomography, with outcomes expressed as differences in the thickness of both examined layers between the study and control groups. We found thinner GCL in wAMD vs. dAMD (p < 0.001). In turn, the RNFL layer did not show any statistically significant differences between the two groups (p = 0.409). Similarly, we found a statistically significant correlation between the number of injections and the layer thickness (p = 0.106). Among all assessed parameters, age over 73 was the only factor significantly affecting the thickness of the retinal nerve fiber layer in both groups (p = 0.042). The morphology of the inner layers of the retina in dry and wet AMD seems to differ, possibly due to differences in the etiopathogenesis of these two forms of the disease. In our study, the retinal ganglion cell layer was thinner in the treated vs. fellow eye (with dry AMD), while the nerve fiber layer was not significantly different between the groups. The number of anti-VEGF injections had no effect on the thickness of the macular nerve fiber layer.