Recent studies have suggested that cilioretinal arteries (CRAs) provide protection against developing age-related macular degeneration. The objective of this research is to characterize the association between the presence of CRA and the incidence of choroidal neovascularization or geographic atrophy.
This is a cohort study and ad hoc secondary analysis of data from the CATT that was performed 44 clinical centers in the US. The participants included a total of 350 patients (230 women, 120 men) with CNV in the study eye without advanced AMD in the fellow eye at baseline. The primary outcomes and measures of the study were to establish an association between the presence of CRA and the incidence of CNV or GA.
Out of 350 participants, cilioretinal arteries were present in 67 of them without baseline CNV and 73 with study eyes with baseline CNV. CRAs were not associated with the incidence of CNV or GA at five years follow-up.
The research concluded that there is no protective association between cilioretinal arteries and the incidence of choroidal neovascularization or geographic atrophy in CATT participants with unilateral AMD. However, these findings were different from those of previous studies, which may be due to the different techniques used to detect CRAs.
Ref: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaophthalmology/fullarticle/2749325
