Longitudinal Study of Retinal Function in Eyes Treated for Diabetic Macular Edema With Anti-VEGF Agents (AS)

April 28, 2026 updated by: Jaeb Center for Health Research
A considerable hurdle to the development of novel, more effective therapies for diabetic retinal disease is the limited number of primary endpoints available for use in regulatory trials. Current endpoints necessitate long trial durations and a greater number of participants to show efficacy. Thus, a better understanding of the structural and functional changes in the retina occurring in people with diabetes is essential for developing primary endpoints and validating surrogate and clinical endpoints.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
100

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Phase 4

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Key inclusion criteria:

  • Age ≥18 years
  • Diagnosed with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes
  • Best corrected visual acuity 20/320 or better (Snellen) (≥24 ETDRS letters)
  • At least 1 eye with CI-DME requiring treatment
  • Able and willing to provide informed consent.

Key exclusion criteria:

  • Ocular or systemic condition, aside from diabetes mellitus (DM), that is likely to affect the assessment of DRSS, DME, or the functioning of the neural retina.
  • Previous treatment of any kind for diabetic retinopathy or DME
  • Any condition that may preclude adequate imaging of the macula (e.g. dense cataract or other media opacity, ptosis)
  • History of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment or macular hole
  • History of vitrectomy
  • Intraocular surgery (including cataract surgery) within 4 months prior to enrollment or anticipated within the next 6 months

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Other
  • Allocation: Non-Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Active Comparator: Mild center-involved diabetic macular edema
Eyes with optical coherence tomography central subfield thickness <75 µm above DRCR standard thresholds of Zeiss Cirrus central subfield: ≥ 290µm in women or ≥ 305µm in men • Heidelberg Spectralis central subfield: ≥ 305µm in women or ≥ 320µm in men
Drug: Anti-Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor
All study eyes will receive an injection of anti-VEGF at baseline, 4, and 8 weeks. The participant will then be assessed for treatment every 8 weeks. At and after the 16-week visit, an injection will only be given if the eye has center-involved DME or visual acuity worse than 20/20 (presumed to be due to DME). Otherwise, an injection will not be given. The follow-up interval remains 8 weeks regardless of whether an injection is given or deferred. However, if an injection is deferred and the participant experiences vision issues or other symptoms, they may return for evaluation prior to 8 weeks (e.g., in 4 weeks) and can receive an injection (provided it has been at least 21 days since the last injection).
Other Names:
  • Anti-VEGF
Active Comparator: Moderate Center-involved diabetic macular edema
Eyes with OCT central subfield thickness 75 to <175 µm above DRCR standard thresholds of: Zeiss Cirrus central subfield: ≥ 290µm in women or ≥ 305µm in men • Heidelberg Spectralis central subfield: ≥ 305µm in women or ≥ 320µm in men
Drug: Anti-Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor
All study eyes will receive an injection of anti-VEGF at baseline, 4, and 8 weeks. The participant will then be assessed for treatment every 8 weeks. At and after the 16-week visit, an injection will only be given if the eye has center-involved DME or visual acuity worse than 20/20 (presumed to be due to DME). Otherwise, an injection will not be given. The follow-up interval remains 8 weeks regardless of whether an injection is given or deferred. However, if an injection is deferred and the participant experiences vision issues or other symptoms, they may return for evaluation prior to 8 weeks (e.g., in 4 weeks) and can receive an injection (provided it has been at least 21 days since the last injection).
Other Names:
  • Anti-VEGF
Active Comparator: Severe Center-involved diabetic macular edema
Severe CI-DME: Eyes with OCT central subfield thickness >=175µm above DRCR standard thresholds of Zeiss Cirrus central subfield: ≥ 290µm in women or ≥ 305µm in men • Heidelberg Spectralis central subfield: ≥ 305µm in women or ≥ 320µm in men
Drug: Anti-Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor
All study eyes will receive an injection of anti-VEGF at baseline, 4, and 8 weeks. The participant will then be assessed for treatment every 8 weeks. At and after the 16-week visit, an injection will only be given if the eye has center-involved DME or visual acuity worse than 20/20 (presumed to be due to DME). Otherwise, an injection will not be given. The follow-up interval remains 8 weeks regardless of whether an injection is given or deferred. However, if an injection is deferred and the participant experiences vision issues or other symptoms, they may return for evaluation prior to 8 weeks (e.g., in 4 weeks) and can receive an injection (provided it has been at least 21 days since the last injection).
Other Names:
  • Anti-VEGF

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in multifocal pupillographic objective perimetry (mfPOP) response delays
Time Frame: Baseline to 1 year
mfPOP response delays measured using the Objective Field Analyzer (OFA)
Baseline to 1 year
Change in area under the log contrast sensitivity function (AULCSF)
Time Frame: Baseline to 1 year
AULCSF as measured by the Adaptive Sensory Testing (AST) Manifold contrast sensitivity testing system
Baseline to 1 year
Change in electroretinography parameter
Time Frame: Baseline to 1 year
Measured by the RETeval device
Baseline to 1 year
Change in reading performance
Time Frame: Baseline to 1 year
Measured by the MNREAD test
Baseline to 1 year
Change in visual field function
Time Frame: Baseline to 1 year
Measured by Humphrey Visual Field testing
Baseline to 1 year
Change in diabetic retinopathy severity
Time Frame: Baseline to 1 year
Assessed by ultra-widefield (UWF) color fundus photography
Baseline to 1 year
Change in retinal vascular pathology
Time Frame: Baseline to 1 year
Assessed by ultra-widefield fluorescein angiography (UWF-FA)
Baseline to 1 year
Change in retinal structure
Time Frame: Baseline to 1 year
measured by optical coherence tomography (OCT)
Baseline to 1 year
Change in retinal microvascular parameter
Time Frame: Baseline to 1 year
Measured by optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA)
Baseline to 1 year

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Jaeb Center for Health Research

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
National Eye Institute (NEI)

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
May 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
December 1, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
May 1, 2033

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
February 9, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
April 28, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
May 5, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
May 5, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
April 28, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
April 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • Protocol AS (1)
  • UG1EY014231 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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