Another use for Avastin… blebs!

Bevacizumab (Avastin) may have an application as an adjunct to antifibrosis therapy, according to study results published in the October/November issue of the Journal of Glaucoma.

Michael A. Coote, MBBS, FRANZCO of the University of Melbourne, Australia and colleagues administered a subconjunctival injection of bevacizumab to a bleb. The team monitored bleb vascularity and measured any longitudinal changes that occurred in the six months prior to, and for the six months following, the bevacizumab injection.

Three months after one eye underwent trabeculectomy, cataract surgery was required; 10 days postoperatively, increased scarring activity was correlated to bleb vascularity. The researchers found that the single subconjunctival injection of bevacizumab was associated with a significant reduction in bleb vascularity for six weeks and, at six months, with additional continued steroid therapy, the bleb functioned well, had minimal scar tissue and was healthy and diffuse.

Because the bleb responded so well to the bevacizumab injection, the researchers concluded that this treatment may provide an effective adjunct to antifibrosis therapy, although further studies into bevacizumab’s effect on bleb scarring activity are required.