Oral Doxycycline Reduces the Total Number of Intraocular Bevacizumab Injections Needed to Control Neovascular Age-related Macular Degeneration

Tetracyclines, especially doxycycline, play a role in the regulation of inflammation, immunomodulation, cell proliferation, and angiogenesis. Treatment of corneal angiogenesis or choroidal neovascularization with tetracyclines has been shown to be effective in animal models. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of oral doxycycline in reducing the total number of intraocular injections needed for controlling neovascular age-related macular degeneration in human patients. In this interventional case series, 28 random consecutive patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration from Farabi Eye Hospital, Tehran, Iran were treated for 4 months with 200 mg doxycycline once a day after the first intravitreal bevacizumab injection in addition to standard therapy in agreement with as-needed regimen. After 12 months of follow-up, total number of injections, foveal thickness and visual acuity were compared to those at baseline and of similar studies. Similar to standard treatment, co-treatment with doxycycline was able to control active disease (intraretinal or subretinal fluid or leakage, new-onset of macular hemorrhage, and reduction of visual acuity more than 5 letters based on Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study [ETDRS] charts) yet with fewer injections (for current study and standard treatment, respectively 3.14 vs. 5.92, P < 0.001). Furthermore, while better control of the foveal thickness was achieved (P < 0.001), vision improvement was similar to that achieved with standard therapy (P > 0.05). If confirmed in larger studies, the findings of this interventional case series could provide a strategy to control neovascular age-related macular degeneration with fewer intraocular bevacizumab injections by co-administering a well-known oral agent—doxycycline.