{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,4]],"date-time":"2026-05-04T07:56:00Z","timestamp":1777881360885,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":0,"publisher":"SAGE Publications","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,12]],"date-time":"2025-07-12T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1752278400000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc\/4.0\/"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,12]],"date-time":"2025-07-12T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1752278400000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/page\/policies\/text-and-data-mining-license"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100009857","name":"Regeneron Pharmaceuticals","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100009857","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/100004326","name":"Bayer","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100004326","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["journals.sagepub.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Ophthalmol Eye Dis"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2025,11]]},"abstract":"Summary<\/jats:title>\n \n What is this summary about?<\/jats:bold>\n <\/jats:p>\n \n \n \n \n This is a summary of a publication about the PHOTON study, which was published in\n The Lancet<\/jats:italic>\n .\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:list-item>\n \n \n Diabetic macular edema<\/jats:bold>\n (DME) is a serious and common complication of diabetes, with an estimated global prevalence of 5.5% in people with diabetes.\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:list-item>\n \n \n In DME, leaky blood vessels lead to the swelling (or\n edema<\/jats:bold>\n ) of the macula (the area of the retina at the back of the eye that is responsible for sharp vision), which can then lead to blurred vision and vision loss. Over-production of a protein called vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a main cause of these leaky blood vessels.\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:list-item>\n \n \n To directly address the underlying problem, anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) medicine, given as an injection into the eye, can block the VEGF causing the leaky blood vessels and\n edema<\/jats:bold>\n .\n \n \n \u25cb\u2003However, frequent eye injections are often required to maintain good vision and many people find it difficult to keep up with the visits and injections.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:list-item>\n <\/jats:list>\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:list-item>\n \n \n Aflibercept<\/jats:bold>\n is an anti-VEGF medicine that is approved for the treatment of DME.\n \n \n \n \u25cb\u2003It is recommended that people with DME receive injections of\n aflibercept<\/jats:bold>\n 2\u2009mg every 4\u20138\u2009weeks after 5 initial monthly injections.\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:list-item>\n <\/jats:list>\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:list-item>\n \n \n The PHOTON study was carried out to determine if a higher, 8-mg dose of\n aflibercept<\/jats:bold>\n , given every 12 or 16 weeks after 3 initial monthly injections, could provide the same treatment benefits as\n aflibercept<\/jats:bold>\n 2\u2009mg, given every 8\u2009weeks after 5 initial monthly injections.\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:list-item>\n <\/jats:list>\n <\/jats:p>\n \n What were the results?<\/jats:bold>\n <\/jats:p>\n \n \n \n \n During the first year (or at 48 weeks) of the study, participants who received\n aflibercept<\/jats:bold>\n 8\u2009mg every 12 or 16\u2009weeks following 3 initial monthly injections had similar improvements in vision when compared to those treated with\n aflibercept<\/jats:bold>\n 2\u2009mg every 8\u2009weeks following 5 initial monthly injections with fewer injections.\n \n \n \n \u25cb\u2003Most participants who received\n aflibercept<\/jats:bold>\n 8\u2009mg and completed the study through 48\u2009weeks kept their 12- or 16-week injection schedules without needing to have more frequent injections.\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:list-item>\n \n \n \u25cb\u2003Disease severity, measured by the\n Diabetic<\/jats:bold>\n Retinopathy Severity Scale score, improved by at least 2 levels at week 48 in 27% of participants who received\n aflibercept<\/jats:bold>\n 2\u2009mg every 8\u2009weeks, 29% of participants who received\n aflibercept<\/jats:bold>\n 8\u2009mg every 12 weeks, and 20% of participants who received\n aflibercept<\/jats:bold>\n 8\u2009mg every 16 weeks.\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:list-item>\n \n \n \u25cb\u2003Participants who received\n aflibercept<\/jats:bold>\n 8\u2009mg had similar decreases in swelling of the\n macula<\/jats:bold>\n as measured by central retinal thickness compared to those treated with\n aflibercept<\/jats:bold>\n 2\u2009mg at week 48, even though fewer injections were received with\n aflibercept<\/jats:bold>\n 8\u2009mg.\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:list-item>\n <\/jats:list>\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:list-item>\n \n \n Adverse events in participants treated with\n aflibercept<\/jats:bold>\n 8\u2009mg were also similar to those treated with\n aflibercept<\/jats:bold>\n 2\u2009mg.\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:list-item>\n <\/jats:list>\n <\/jats:p>\n \n What do the results mean?<\/jats:bold>\n <\/jats:p>\n \n \n \n Often, patients with DME may find it difficult to keep up with the routine medical appointments that are required to maintain their vision.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:list-item>\n \n \n Findings showed that\n aflibercept<\/jats:bold>\n 8\u2009mg provided a similar level of improvement in vision to\n aflibercept<\/jats:bold>\n 2\u2009mg in people with DME but with fewer injections after 1\u2009year of treatment.\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:list-item>\n \n \n Treatment with\n aflibercept<\/jats:bold>\n 8\u2009mg may help to improve vision in these patients with fewer injections.\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:list-item>\n <\/jats:list>\n <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1177\/25158414251347689","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,13]],"date-time":"2025-07-13T05:19:32Z","timestamp":1752383972000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Plain language summary of publication of the 48-week results from the PHOTON study: intravitreal aflibercept 8 mg for diabetic macular edema"],"prefix":"10.1177","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"David M.","family":"Brown","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Retina Consultants of Texas, Retina Consultants of America, Houston, TX, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"David S.","family":"Boyer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Retina-Vitreous Associates, Los Angeles, CA, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Diana V.","family":"Do","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Byers Eye Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Charles C.","family":"Wykoff","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Retina Consultants of Texas, Retina Consultants of America, Houston, TX, USA"},{"name":"Blanton Eye Institute, Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Taiji","family":"Sakamoto","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Ophthalmology, Kagoshima University, Kagoshima, Japan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Peter","family":"Win","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Win Retina, Arcadia, CA, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Sunir","family":"Joshi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Pinnacle Research Institute, Fort Lauderdale, FL, 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