Tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs) while originally characterized as inhibitors of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) have recently been shown to have a wide range of functions that are independent of their MMP inhibitory properties. Tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases-3 (TIMP-3) is a potent inhibitor of VEGF-mediated angiogenesis and neovascularization through its ability to bloc...

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of vision loss in the developed world. Until recently, this condition was believed to be largely untreatable, but developments in the past 2 years have challenged this view. A new class of drugs—based on suppression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)—has been introduced for the treatment of “wet” or neovascular AMD, the most ...

Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) remains a leading cause of childhood blindness, affecting infants born prematurely. ROP is characterized by the onset of delayed physiological retinal vascular development (PRVD) and followed by pathologic neovascularization into the vitreous instead of the retina, called intravitreal neovascularization (IVNV). Therefore, the therapeutic strategy for treating RO...

Copyright © 2012 Toshiaki Kubota et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Recent clinical trials regarding the intravitreal injection of antivascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) agents (ranibizumab, bevacizumab,...

Neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) leads to visual impairment if not treated promptly. Intravitreal anti-VEGF drugs have revolutionized nAMD treatment in the past two decades. We evaluated outcomes of nAMD. A real-life population-based cohort study. The data included parameters for age, sex, age at diagnosis, laterality, chronicity, symptoms, outcomes, lens status, and history ...

INTRODUCTION In proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) may cause blindness by neovascularisation followed by fibrosis of the retina. It has previously been shown that a shift in the balance between levels of CTGF and VEGF in the eye is associated with this angiofibrotic switch. This study investigated whethe...

BACKGROUND To estimate the need for bilateral intravitreal anti-VEGF injections in patients treated for neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD), diabetic macular edema (DME), retinal vein occlusion, choroidal neovascularization (CNV) in high myopia, and other causes of CNV. METHODS All consecutive patients treated with intravitreal anti-VEGF injection over a 1-month period were in...

PURPOSE To investigate the changes in plasma concentrations of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), insulin growth factor (IGF-1), erythropoietin, pigment epithelium-derived factor, and IgG1 after bevacizumab intravitreal injection in infants with retinopathy of prematurity. METHODS Eleven eyes from six infants who received intravitreal injection of bevacizumab were enrolled in this stu...

The use of anti-tubercular therapy (ATT) along with anti-retroviral therapy (ART) in human immunodeficiency virus-tuberculosis (HIV-TB) co-infected individuals could at times lead to paradoxical worsening due to an increase in the inflammatory activity due to immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS) in the eye. This is characterized by anterior and posterior segment inflammatory react...

PURPOSE The aim of this study was to investigate the functions of dsRNA-activated protein kinase (PKR) in choroidal neovascularization (CNV) and related signaling pathways in the production of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). METHODS A chemical hypoxia model of in vitro RF/6A cells, a rhesus choroid-retinal endothelial cell line, was established by adding cobalt chloride (CoCl2) to ...