Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a progressive chronic disease causing visual impairment or central vision loss in the elderly. We hypothesized that successful rheopheresis would be associated with positive changes in soluble endoglin (sENG), PSCK9, alpha-2-macroglobulin (A2M), and hs-CRP levels. 31 elderly patients with the dry form of AMD, treated with rheopheresis with a follow-up period of at least 5 years and an average age of 68 ± 4 years, were evaluated. Each treated patient received a series of 8 procedures in 10 weeks and, after the 2-year period, another 2 procedures within 1 week. Then, the patients were followed up every 6 months and divided into the successfully treated and therapeutic failure group according to best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), size of the drusen area, and the drusenoid pigment epithelium detachment (DPED). Based on the ophthalmological assessment, rheopheresis treatment was successful in 73% of AMD patients. The therapy was associated with a significant decrease in total cholesterol, LDL-C, HDL-C, apoprotein B, lipoprotein (a) levels, and rheologically important parameters, irrespective of the therapy's success or failure. The success of rheopheresis therapy was exclusively related to a significant decrease in sENG and A2M levels. Over the long term, rheopheresis prevented the decline of BCVA, reduced the DPED and area of macular drusen, and improved the preservation of an intact photoreceptor ellipsoid zone in most patients. Moreover, we showed for the first time that sENG and A2M could be potentially sensitive biomarkers of successful rheopheresis procedure, irrespective of lipid parameters changes.

• Keywords
• Age-related macular degeneration, Alpha-2-macroglobulin, Rheopheresis, Soluble endoglin,
• MeSH
• Biomarkers * blood   MeSH
• Endoglin * blood   MeSH
• Middle Aged MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Macular Degeneration * therapy   blood   MeSH
• Aged MeSH
• Treatment Outcome MeSH
• Visual Acuity MeSH
• Check Tag
• Middle Aged MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Male MeSH
• Aged MeSH
• Female MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Names of Substances
• Biomarkers * MeSH
• Endoglin * MeSH

BACKROUND: Only few therapeutic options exist for patients with refractory sudden idiopathic sensorineural hearing loss (SISHL). Little is known about the efficacy of second-line therapies. Rheopheresis seems to be an effective therapeutic possibility. METHODS: Between 2012 and 2015, 106 patients with SISHL were enrolled in the study, of whom 52 were refractory to initial treatment. As salvage therapy, these patients were offered either 3 sessions of rheopheresis (33 pts) or intratympanic steroid treatment through MicroWick application (19 pts). Pure tone audiometry was performed at diagnosis, at the 1st month and the 1st year during the follow-up. RESULTS: Patients in the rheopheretic arm had higher hearing loss than in the MicroWick arm (81% vs. 52%, p = 0.04). In spite of this, there was a significant improvement for patients in the rheopheretic arm (27% of hearing loss reduction, p < 0.001) after the 1st month and this remained unchanged during the 1st year, while no improvement was seen in the MicroWick arm (0% of hearing loss reduction, p = 0.424). We found no predictive factor for steroid-failure in first-line therapy. Older age (p = 0.003), presence of vertigo (p = 0.006) and more profound initial hearing loss (p < 0.001) were identified as negative prognostic markers. CONCLUSION: Rheopheresis can be used as a potentially effective and safe salvage therapy for patients with cortico-refractory SISHL.

• Keywords
• MicroWick, Rheopheresis, Sudden idiopathic hearing loss,
• MeSH
• Analysis of Variance MeSH
• Audiometry, Pure-Tone methods   MeSH
• Adult MeSH
• Risk Assessment MeSH
• Adrenal Cortex Hormones administration & dosage   MeSH
• Cohort Studies MeSH
• Drug Resistance MeSH
• Middle Aged MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Young Adult MeSH
• Hearing Loss, Sudden diagnosis   therapy   MeSH
• Follow-Up Studies MeSH
• Statistics, Nonparametric MeSH
• Recovery of Function MeSH
• Plasmapheresis methods   MeSH
• Prospective Studies MeSH
• Aged MeSH
• Severity of Illness Index MeSH
• Treatment Outcome MeSH
• Salvage Therapy methods   MeSH
• Check Tag
• Adult MeSH
• Middle Aged MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Young Adult MeSH
• Male MeSH
• Aged MeSH
• Female MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Observational Study MeSH
• Comparative Study MeSH
• Names of Substances
• Adrenal Cortex Hormones MeSH