Treatment of subfoveal choroidal neovascular membranes with systemic interferon-α 2a

Abstract

Systemic interferon-α has recently been reported to be useful in the treatment of choroidal neovascular membranes (CNVM) in age-related macular degeneration. To further investigate its effect we treated eight patients with subfoveal choroidal neovascular membranes of various aetiologies including idiopathic, age-related macular degeneration and myopic chorioretinal degeneration. Only one of the eight patients responded with an angiographically demonstrated decrease in the size of the CNVM; this was in a patient from the idioapthic group. Considerable side-effects were reported with marked lethargy and malaise limiting compliance with some patients. Although this is an initial report with lim..