Comments and Conclusions Cont’d
• Neovascularization during phase Il is driven by hypoxia which stimulates elevated levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF).3
• Current treatment for ROP include peripheral retinal ablation with cryotherapy or laser photocoagulation and vitreoretinal surgery for retinal detachment.3
• In the CRYO-ROP study, cryotherapy successfully reduced the number of infants with less than 20/200 VA by 26%. However, cryotherapy did not improve the chances of visual acuity better than 20/40. Currently, photocoagulation is the treatment of choice for ROP.3
• Emerging treatment methods involve controlling VEGF levels via anti-VEGF drugs and increasing levels of IGF-1 to those found in utero in the premature infant. Low levels of IGF-1 in infants is associated to the degree of severity and progression in ROP.3
• Ideal treatment for ROP would create an identical or similar environment found in utero, so the premature infant would be able to develop normal retinal vascularization.3