Avastin may benefit glaucoma patients

Intravitreal bevacizumab (Avastin) may be an important additional treatment option for the rapid resolution of neovascular glaucoma (NVG), according to the results of a study conducted by Maia Kalev-Landoy and colleagues from the Wolfson Medical Center, Israel.

Four eyes of four patients with NVG were treated with intravitreal bevacizumab. In two eyes, NVG was secondary to proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) and the other two were secondary to central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) and central retinal artery occlusion (CRAO), respectively. Each patient received a single 1.25 mg injection of bevacizumab. In addition to anti-glaucoma treatment, two patients received full panretinal photocoagulation (PRP).

All patients demonstrated a rapid progression of iris and angle neovascularization, with normalization of intraocular pressure (IOP). Mean IOP prior to treatment was 52.5 mmHg and this reduced to a mean of 16.2 mmHg post-treatment. Mean time from injection to regression of the neovascularization and normalization of IOP was four days.

The results suggest that intravitreal bevacizumab could be a useful treatment option for the rapid resolution of NVG.