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Thursday, October 20, 2005
Avastin Study Presented at Ophthalmology Meeting
The use of cancer drug Avastin as a treatment for wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD)was first mentioned in RetGen last month ('Wet MD - Lucentis Vs Avastin', 28 September 2005).
Doctor's Guide reports that Dr Philip Rosenfeld from the University of Miami Miller Medical School in the United States has presented the findings from a study into Avastin and AMD at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.
According to Doctor's Guide, the most signficant side effect of the Avastin treatment involved transient changes in blood pressure in a sub-set of 18 patients. Avastin may provide a cheaper alternative to wet AMD drugs Macugen and Lucentis.
WebMD Medical News' reports on the study and other drug treatments for AMD in 'New Eye Drugs Treat Macular Degeneration' (17 October 2005).
Doctor's Guide reports that Dr Philip Rosenfeld from the University of Miami Miller Medical School in the United States has presented the findings from a study into Avastin and AMD at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.
Dr. Rosenfeld and colleagues studied 40 patients who had severe AMD and who received a mean of 1.8 injections of Avastin each as salvage therapy.
Results show a mean decrease in retinal thickness of 104 microns, from 332 microns at baseline to 228 microns.
Patients also had an improvement in visual acuity, from a mean of 20/160 to 20/125, which corresponds to an increase of one line of visual acuity in 40% of subjects, Dr. Rosenfeld said.
'Controversial Study Uses Avastin (Bevacizumab) to Treat Age-related Macular Degeneration: Presented at AAO' (Doctor's Guide, 18 October 2005).
According to Doctor's Guide, the most signficant side effect of the Avastin treatment involved transient changes in blood pressure in a sub-set of 18 patients. Avastin may provide a cheaper alternative to wet AMD drugs Macugen and Lucentis.
WebMD Medical News' reports on the study and other drug treatments for AMD in 'New Eye Drugs Treat Macular Degeneration' (17 October 2005).
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