Diabetes-related edema and cataract surgery manageable with cancer treatment
The usage of bevacizumab (Avastin) to offer relief to patients with macular edema and individuals with cystoid macular edema after cataract surgery has been reported by the journal Ophthalmology.
Another study suggested methods to improve the safety level for making cataract surgery safer for diabetic retinopathy (DR) patients.
Diabetic retinopathy is considered to become one of the leading threats in the future with predictions for triple growth in such cases by the year 2050.
From Sciencedaily.com:
The Pan-American Collaborative Retina Study Group also reviewed the use of bevacizumab in patients with post-cataract surgery cystoid macular edema (CME) who had not responded to standard treatment. Twenty to 30 percent of all cataract surgery patients develop CME, in which the macula swells as fluid-filled cysts form. Usually the condition resolves without treatment and causes no permanent vision loss, but in a small percentage of patients vision remains worse than 20/40 and treatment is needed. Standard treatments include steroids, non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs), other medications, or surgery.
The researchers reviewed the records of 31 patients (36 eyes) who were treated with at least one IVB injection and followed for 12 months between 2005 and 2007. At the study’s outset the mean best-corrected visual acuity was 20/200, and at 12 months the mean was 20/80. Most eyes (72.2 percent) improved and the rest remained stable (27.8 percent). Macular thickness also decreased in most eyes. Patients who received two or more injections were significantly more likely to improve. No adverse systemic or vision side effects or outcomes were reported.
According to the Pan-American Collaborative Retina Study Group, led by J. Fernando Arevalo, MD, of the Caracas Central Ophthalmologic Clinic, Venezuela, treatment of DMME (diffused macular edema) with bevacizumab (Avastin), an anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) medication, can be considered as a better option though future studies are recommended for confirming the efficacy and safety in treating these conditions.
