Survey on the treatment of diabetic macular edema and prognostic results in Japan

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 21K09685
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 56060:Ophthalmology-related
• Research Institution: Tokyo Medical University
• Principal Investigator: Shimura Masahiko 東京医科大学, 医学部, 教授 (20302135)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 安田 佳奈子 東京医科大学, 医学部, 講師 (70647461) ; 野間 英孝 東京医科大学, 医学部, 准教授 (80304442)
• Project Period (FY): 2021-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 糖尿病黄斑浮腫 / 疫学調査 / 治療 / 予後

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Two-year visual outcomes for treatment-naive diabetic macular oedema in real-world clinical practice since 2015, when anti-VEGF drugs were approved for insurance coverage, were extracted from the medical records of 37 vitreoretinal specialist centres in Japan and compared by year of treatment initiation.
The 2-year visual outcome improved year by year, increasing by 7 letters, and the proportion of eyes with good visual acuity (>0.5) increased to 73.3%. Anti-VEGF therapy was found to be administered in approximately 90% of eyes, and the proportion of eyes in which it was first-line treatment increased dramatically to approximately 80%. These findings demonstrate the superiority of anti-VEGF therapy and its increasing prevalence.

Free Research Field

眼科

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

糖尿病黄斑浮腫は失明原因ではないが、50才から70才という社会貢献の大きい年代に発症し、社会的な視力である0.5を維持できないことが問題となってきた。本研究の研究成果により、積極的に抗VEGF薬治療を行うことで、視力低下を防止できることが判明し、我が国の網膜硝子体施設では、年々この考え方にそった治療が行われていることが証明された。本研究結果が和学の糖尿病黄斑浮腫治療のガイドラインに与える影響は大きいと思われる。