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Bevacizumab Injections Effective in Patients With High-Risk Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy: Presented at ARVO By Micheal Casasnovas FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla -- May 1, 2008 -- Intravitreal bevacizumab injections appear to be effective and well tolerated in patients with high-risk proliferative diabetic retinopathy, researchers reported here at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) 2008 Annual Meeting. "In the majority of patients, [intravitreal bevacizumab injections] facilitated the resolution of vitreous haemorrhage and iris neovascularisation, permitting panretinal photocoagulation," noted Patrick Tsai, MD, Resident, Division of Ophthalmology, John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County, Chicago, Illinois, in a poster presentation on April 29. Dr. Tsai and fellow researchers in the Department of Ophthalmology at Stroger Hospital conducted a retrospective outcomes analysis of 113 eyes in 93 patients. All subjects were administered bevacizumab 1.25 mg in a 0.05-mL intravitreal dose for proliferative diabetic retinopathy after receiving a complete ophthalmic examination in the hospital's Eye Clinic between August 2006 and April 2008. Follow-up examinations occurred between day 1 and 3, then at 1 to 2 months, with additional examinations as needed. The majority of patients' eyes (83%) showed improvement of vitreous haemorrhage and/or iris neovascularisation. In the study, 90 patients were diagnosed with vitreal haemorrhage, and researchers found improvement in 69 of those eyes (74%). The improvement permitted subsequent panretinal photocoagulation, Dr. Tsai said. "Panretinal photocoagulation using laser technology is the standard of care for treatment of vitreal haemorrhage, but we have to be able to see where to focus the laser, and bevacizumab therapy clears the eye in most patients, allowing this therapy," he noted. Iris neovascularisation was observed in 53 eyes, and improvement was observed in 51 of those eyes (96%), with the earliest improvement noted within 1 day after injection. Researchers did not use a control group to discover if sham injections could help clear vitreous haemorrhage. No adverse events occurred during the study period. "Intravitreal bevacizumab injection appears to be safe and well tolerated in patients with high-risk proliferative diabetic retinopathy," concluded Dr. Tsai. "Additional study is necessary to determine [its] long-term safety and efficacy…in [these] patients," he added. Bevacizumab is a vascular endothelial growth factor inhibitor, often used in greater doses for the treatment of certain cancers. [Presentation title: Efficacy of Intravitreal Bevacizumab (Avastin) in Patients With Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy. Abstract A517] E-mail this page to a friend or colleague! To print, use this version