Ranibizumab plus fufang xueshuantong capsule versus ranibizumab alone for exudative age-related macular degeneration.

OBJECTIVE

To compare the efficacy of ranibizumab plus fufang xueshuantong capsule (cFXST) with the efficacy of ranibizumab alone in treatment of exudative age-related macular degeneration.

METHODS

This prospective, randomized, controlled, pilot study included 38 eyes from 38 patients with exudative age-related macular degeneration (AMD) that were randomly allocated into two cohorts of 19 eyes each: ranibizumab (C) and ranibizumab plus cFXST (C). All patients received three monthly injections of ranibizumab. Patients in C also received daily oral supplementation of cFXST. Best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and thickness of the choroidal neovascularization-pigment epithelial detachment (CNV-PED) complex (measured by optical coherence tomography) were recorded at baseline and at 1 and 3 months after the first intravitreal injection of ranibizumab.

RESULTS

In the C, the CNV-PED complex thickness was reduced by 31.7% and 36.1% at 1 and 3 months, respectively; these reductions were significantly greater than the 19.7% and 24.2% reductions in the C. BCVA improvement was significantly greater in the C than in the C after 3 months; the proportion of patients with functional response was also greater in the C than in the C (16/16 vs. 8/17).

CONCLUSION

Oral cFXST increases the efficacy of short-term ranibizumab treatment for exudative AMD.