Abstract
Purpose: :
To evaluate the safety and efficacy of intravitreal bevacizumab (avastin, Genentech inc.) for the treatment of subfoveal choroidal neovascularization (CNV) in patients with AMD
Methods: :
12 AMD patients with subfoveal CNV that did not respond to PDT treatment were enrolled in the study. Patients were treated at baseline with intravitreal bevacizumab and than followed up for 6 months at regular intervals. Ophthalmologic evaluation included protocol VA measurements, ocular examinations along with optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging and fluorescein angiography (FA). Retreatment of intravitreal bevacizumab was performed (up to 3 injections) if there was evidence of recurrent leakage from the CNV.
Results: :
No serious ocular or systemic adverse events were identified through the 6 months follow up. Visual acuity revealed stabilization or improvement in 80% patients. FA revealed marked reduction in leakage in all patients, and OCT imaging revealed stable or decreased retinal thickness in all patients.
Conclusions: :
Bevacizumab therapy given intravitrealy for neovascular AMD was well tolerated and effective through a 6 months follow up period. These results albeit promising need to be validated in multicentered controlled trials.
Keywords: age-related macular degeneration • choroid: neovascularization • clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: outcomes/complications