Fibrosis in neovascular age-related macular degeneration: A review of definitions based on clinical imaging

Despite the success of antiangiogenic therapy in controlling exudation in neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD), the involvement of the outer retina in fibrosis re-sults in gradual vision loss over time. The development of drugs that prevent or ameliorate fibrosis in nAMD requires that it is accurately detected and quantified with reliable end-points and identification of robust biomarkers. Achievement of such an aim is currently challenging due to the lack of a consensus definition of fibrosis in nAMD. As a first step towards the establishment of a clear definition of fibrosis, we provide an extensive over-view of the imaging modalities and criteria used to characterize fibrosis in nAMD. We observed variety in the selection of individual and combinations of imaging modalities, and criteria for detection. We also observed heterogeneity in classification systems and severity scales for fibrosis. The most commonly used imaging modalities were color fundus photography, fluorescein angiography and optical coherence tomography (OCT). A multi -modal approach was frequently utilized. Our review suggests that OCT offers a more de-tailed, objective and sensitive characterization than color fundus photography/fluorescein angiography. Thus, we recommend it as a primary modality for fibrosis evaluation. This review provides a basis for future discussions to reach a consensus definition using stan-dardized terms based on a detailed characterization of fibrosis, its presence and evolution, and taking into consideration impact on visual function. Achieving this goal is of para-mount importance for the development of antifibrotic therapies.& COPY; 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc.This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).