HYPERREFLECTIVE RETINAL SPOTS AND VISUAL FUNCTION AFTER ANTI-VASCULAR ENDOTHELIAL GROWTH FACTOR TREATMENT IN CENTER-INVOLVING DIABETIC MACULAR EDEMA.

Background: To assess and correlate early modifications in hyperreflective retinal spots (HRS), retinal sensitivity (RS), fixation stability, and best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) after anti-vascular endothelial growth factor treatment in naive center-involving diabetic macular edema.
Methods: Cross-sectional comparative case-control series. Twenty diabetic patients underwent 3 consecutive intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor injections in the study eye (20 fellow eyes served as control), full ophthalmologic examination including spectral domain optical coherence tomography (Retinascan RS-3000; Nidek, Gamagori, Japan), and microperimetry (MP1; Nidek) at baseline (Visit-V1), 1 month after each injection (V2, V3, V4), and at 6 months (V5). Central retinal thickness, inner and outer retinal thickness, number of HRS, BCVA, RS, and bivariate contour ellipse area were evaluated by analysis of variance test with Bonferroni post hoc test. Correlation analyses were performed by Spearman correlation.
Results: In treated eyes, central retinal thickness and inner retinal thickness significantly decreased at V2, V3, V4 versus V1 (P < 0.03 at least for all); the mean number of HRS significantly decreased in both inner and outer retina at all follow-up visits versus V1 (P < 0.008 at least for all); mean RS and bivariate contour ellipse area remained statistically unchanged during the follow-up; BCVA significantly improved at V3, V4, and V5 versus V1 (P = 0.009 at least for all). In fellow eyes, central retinal thickness, HRS, RS, and BCVA did not change at any follow-up. The number of HRS correlated inversely with RS, directly with bivariate contour ellipse area, and not significantly with BCVA.
Conclusion: A significant decrease in HRS in the retina after anti-vascular endothelial growth factor treatment is documented. A decrease in HRS correlates with functional parameters, specifically RS. New parameters may be used for treatment evaluation in center-involving diabetic macular edema.