Ranibizumab inhibits nuclear cataractogenesis: an optical measurement error or unexpected pharmacological effect?

Purpose:the aim of the study is to evaluate lens nuclear optic densitometry alterations following intravitreal ranibizumab injections in patients with age related macular degeneration (amd). materials and methods:twenty-two eyes of 22 patients with wet type amd were included in this retrospective case series. all the eyes received intravitreal ranibizumab injections as needed. the lens nucleus densitometry examinations were taken with the scheimpflug anterior segment imaging system. the measurements were taken before the injections and at the last visit. results: the mean age of the patients was 68.0 ± 8.7 years and the mean follow up time after the first injection was 7.8 ± 3.7 months. an average of 2.3 ± 1.0 injections was performed. for all lens densitometry measurement techniques, the pre-injection values were statistically significantly higher than the postinjection values, indicating decreased nuclear opacity after the injections (p<0.05). conclusion: our results show that intravitreal ranibizumab injection may have an inhibitory effect on nuclear cataract formation.