Photodynamic therapy in young patients

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: To present a consecutive case series of patients 50 years or younger who underwent photodynamic therapy (PDT) for choroidal neovascularization (CNV) from etiologies other than age-related macular degeneration. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Retrospective chart review of 35 consecutive eyes of 34 patients. RESULTS: Visual acuity remained stable or improved in 20 of 35 eyes. Thirteen eyes with myopic degeneration had pre-treatment and post-treatment mean visual acuities of 20/100 and 20/200, respectively. Eight eyes with idiopathic CNV had an improvement of mean visual acuity from 20/200 to 20/125. Six eyes with ocular histoplasmosis displayed a stable mean visual acuity of 20/50. Of 3 eyes with angioid streaks, visual acuity remained stable in 2 eyes and declined in 1 eye. Five eyes with other etiologies all had improved vision. CONCLUSION: Although the current literature shows evidence that PDT is beneficial in treating CNV secondary to myopic degeneration, the evidence for etiologies such as idiopathic causes, ocular histoplasmosis, and angioid streaks is optimistic but remains unproven. Our study suggests that PDT may be beneficial in stabilizing and improving vision when treating CNV from these etiologies.