Avacincaptad Pegol Slows Progressive Ellipsoid Zone Degradation and Loss in Eyes with Geographic Atrophy.
Justis P Ehlers, Hasan Cetin, Reem Amine et al.
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In 30 seconds
This post hoc analysis of the phase II/III GATHER 1 and phase III GATHER 2 randomized trials examined ellipsoid zone (EZ) integrity in patients aged 50 years or older with non-center point-involving geographic atrophy (GA). In sham-treated eyes, greater baseline EZ attenuation was associated with greater GA growth and subsequent EZ loss over 12 months. Compared with sham, avacincaptad pegol 2 mg reduced mean growth in total EZ attenuation by 19.5% (P = .0009) and in percentage of partial EZ attenuation by 55.3% (P < .0001) over 12 months.
Key findings
- Among sham-treated eyes, higher baseline quartiles of total and partial EZ attenuation were associated with greater GA growth and progression of total EZ attenuation over 12 months.
- Avacincaptad pegol 2 mg reduced mean growth in total EZ attenuation by 19.5% (P = .0009) versus sham over 12 months.
- Avacincaptad pegol 2 mg reduced mean growth in percentage of partial EZ attenuation by 55.3% (P < .0001) versus sham over 12 months.
Why it matters
EZ attenuation provides an OCT-based measure of photoreceptor integrity that was associated with subsequent GA growth and EZ loss in this analysis. The findings also suggest that treatment effects on EZ degradation can be quantified alongside lesion growth, potentially informing assessment of disease progression and treatment response.
What to keep in mind
This was a post hoc analysis, and the reported treatment effects on EZ measures cover only the first 12 months.