Characterization of Vascular Morphology of Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration by Indocyanine Green Angiography.

Abstract

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a leading cause of blindness among older individuals, and its prevalence is rapidly increasing due to the aging population. Choroidal neovascularization (CNV) or wet AMD, which accounts for 10%-20% of all AMD cases, is responsible for an alarming 80%-90% of AMD-related blindness. Current anti-VEGF therapies show suboptimal responses in approximately 50% of patients. Resistance to anti-VEGF treatment in CNV patients is often associated with arteriolar CNV, while responders tend to have capillary CNV. While fluorescein angiography (FA) is commonly used to assess leakage patterns in wet AMD patients and animal models, it does not provide information about CNV vascular morphology (arteriolar CNV vs. capillary CNV). This protocol introduces the use of indocyanine green angiography (ICGA) to characterize lesion types in laser-induced CNV mouse models. This method is crucial for investigating the mechanisms and treatment strategies for anti-VEGF resistance in wet AMD. It is recommended to incorporate ICGA alongside FA for comprehensive assessment of both leakage and vascular features of CNV in mechanistic and therapeutic studies.