Retinal Vein Occlusion: Current Treatment

Retinal vein occlusion (RVO) is a pathology noted for more than 150 years. Although a lot has been written on the matter, it is still a frequent condition with multifactorial etiopathogenesis with many unclear aspects. The RVO pathogenesis has varied systemic and local implications that make it difficult to elaborate treatment guidelines. The management of the patient with RVO is very complex and a multidisciplinary approach is required in order to identify and correct the associated risk factors. Laser therapy remains the gold standard in RVO, but only modest functional improvement has been shown in branch retinal occlusion forms. Multicenter studies of intravitreal drugs present them as an option to combine with laser. Anti-vascular endothelial growth factor, corticosteroids and sustained-release implants are the future weapons to stop disease progression and get a better visual outcome. Consequently, it is useful to clarify some aspects of the pathology that allow a better patient management. Copyright © 2010 S. Karger AG, Basel Received: April 8, 2010 Accepted: April 11, 2010 Published online: October 12, 2010 Ophthalmologica Francesco Bandello, MD, FEBO Department of Ophthalmology, University Vita-Salute Scientific Institute San Raffaele, Via Olgettina 60 IT–20132 Milan (Italy) Tel. +39 02 2643 2648, Fax +39 02 2643 3643, E-Mail bandello.francesco @ hsr.it © 2010 S. Karger AG, Basel 0030–3755/11/2253–0135$38.00/0 Accessible online at: www.karger.com/oph D ow nl oa de d by : 54 .7 0. 40 .1 1 10 /1 5/ 20 17 3 :3 7: 39 A M Lattanzio /Torres Gimeno / Battaglia Parodi /Bandello Ophthalmologica 2011;225:135–143 136 of vision. The degree of vision loss depends on the extent of retinal involvement and whether the macula is affected. Some patients may even have normal visual acuity (VA), especially if the macula is spared [5] . Although the prevalence of BRVO (0.6–1.6%) is greater than that of CRVO (0.1–0.4%) [1, 2] , CRVO is a disease that affects both anatomy and visual function more adversely than BRVO [6] .