Anatomical and Functional Changes of the Retina and the Choroid after Resolved Chronic CSCR

BACKGROUND: To investigate anatomical/functional changes after oral eplerenone therapy for chronic central serous chorioretinopathy (CCSC) in successfully treated eyes and fellow eyes and assess timing of foveal subretinal fluid (SRF) resolution. METHODS: Twenty-one eyes of 21 patients suffering from CCSC with monolateral foveal SRF successfully treated with oral eplerenone were enrolled in this retrospective study (group 1). The fellow eyes (21 eyes; group 2), healthy or affected by CCSC, without foveal SRF were considered in the analysis. A control healthy group was enrolled as well (healthy controls; n = 21). Main outcome measures during follow-up included changes of best corrected visual acuity (BCVA, logMAR), central macular thickness (CMT; \ub5m), SRF (\ub5m), subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFCT; \ub5m), superficial capillary plexus density (SCPD, %), deep capillary plexus density (DCPD, %), and choriocapillaris density (CCD, %) and percentage of eyes showing foveal SRF resolution at different time points. RESULTS: Functional and anatomical parameters significantly improved during the study in group 1. BCVA increased significantly (p < 0.001), while CMT, SFCT, and SRF decreased significantly (p < 0.001; p < 0.001, and p = 0.037, respectively). SCPD, DCPD, and CCD did not show any statistically significant difference during follow-up. In 71.4% of eyes, resolution of SRF was observed within 60 days and in the remaining 28.6%, at 120 days. In fellow eyes, SFCT decreased significantly (p < 0.001), whilst all other parameters did not modify. CONCLUSIONS: Eplerenone treatment in chronic CSCR potentially improves recovery of retinal and choroidal morphology as well as visual acuity gain. A complete resolution of foveal SRF was observed in all eyes during a 4-month follow-up, with most eyes healing at 2 months. KEYWORDS: choriocapillaris density; chronic central serous chorioretinopathy; eplerenone therapy; optical coherence tomography angiography; subfoveal choroidal thickness; superficial capillary plexus densit

Correlation between LDH levels and response to sorafenib in HCC patients: An analysis of the ITA.LI.CA database

Background: Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) is a predictor of clinical outcome in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients. However, its predictive role in the clinical outcomes of sorafenib treatment has been poorly documented. The correlation between LDH levels and clinical outcomes in HCC patients treated with sorafenib and included in the nationwide Italian database ITA.LI.CA was investigated here. Patients and methods: The ITA.LI.CA database contains data for 5,136 HCC patients. All patients treated with sorafenib treatment and with available LDH values were considered. Overall survival (OS) and time to progression (TTP) were compared in patients with LDH levels above and below a defined threshold, determined through an ROC analysis. An explorative analysis investigated the relationship between the variation of LDH levels during treatment and response to sorafenib. Results: Baseline LDH levels were available for 97 patients. The most accurate cutoff value for LDH concentration was 297 U/L. Patients with LDH values above (n=45) and below (n=52) this threshold showed equal OS (12.0 months) and TTP (4.0 months) values. Data on LDH levels during sorafenib treatment were reported for 10 patients. LDH values decreased in 3 patients (mean difference = -219 U/L) who also reported a prolonged OS and TTP versus those with unmodified/increased LDH (OS: NE (not evaluated) vs. 8.0 months, p=0.0083; TTP: 19.0 vs. 3.0 months, p=0.008). Conclusions: The clinical benefits of sorafenib do not seem to be influenced by baseline LDH. According to the results of an explorative analysis, however, a decreased LDH concentration during sorafenib might be associated with improved clinical outcomes