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Intravitreal bevacizumab therapy for neovascular age-related macular degeneration: a pilot study

  • Clinical Investigation
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Abstract

Purpose

To evaluate the efficacy and safety of intravitreal bevacizumab therapy for neovascular age-related macular degeneration (ARMD).

Methods

Patients with diagnosis of neovascular ARMD without any other ocular pathology were injected with 2.5 mg of intravitreal bevacizumab. A complete ophthalmic examination was undertaken in all patients, including best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), slit lamp biomicroscopy and ocular fundus examination. Ophthalmic follow-up evaluations included visual acuity measurements, optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging, and fluorescein angiography at first, second and fourth week post injection.

Results

39 eyes of 39 patients were injected. The median age was 76 years-old (range 65–90), median visual acuity was 1.18 logMAR (range 0.18–3.00) and median retinal thickness was 388 microns (range 157–1237). By the fourth week of treatment, the median visual acuity was 0.88 (range 0.18–2.78) and median retinal thickness was 247 microns (range 108–1262). Statistically significant differences were found in visual acuity and retinal thickness before and after intravitreal injection (p=0.002, p<0.001, Wilcoxon rank test).

Conclusions

Our results suggest that intravitreal bevacizumab is well tolerated and is associated with improvement in BCVA and decreased mean retinal thickness by OCT. Further controlled and long term evaluation of intravitreal bevacizumab for the treatment of neovascular ARMD is warranted.

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Acknowledgements

Approved by the “Comité de Ética, Hospital Luis Sanchez Bulnes, Asociación para evitar la ceguera en México” comprising Jorge Villar Kuri, and Guillermo Salcedo-Casillas.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Asociación para evitar la Ceguera en México, Hospital “Luis Sánchez Bulnes”, Vicente García Torres #46, Colonia San Lucas Coyoacán, 04030, Mexico, Mexico

    Maura Lucy Abrahám-Marin, Griselda Álvarez-Rivera, Myriam Hernández-Rojas, Hugo Quiroz-Mercado & Virgilio Morales-Cantón

  2. Clínica de Ojos, Bogotá, Colombia

    Carlos Fernando Cortés-Luna

  3. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico, Mexico

    Maura Lucy Abrahám-Marin, Griselda Álvarez-Rivera, Myriam Hernández-Rojas, Hugo Quiroz-Mercado & Virgilio Morales-Cantón

Authors
  1. Maura Lucy Abrahám-Marin
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  2. Carlos Fernando Cortés-Luna
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  3. Griselda Álvarez-Rivera
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  4. Myriam Hernández-Rojas
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  5. Hugo Quiroz-Mercado
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  6. Virgilio Morales-Cantón
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Correspondence to Maura Lucy Abrahám-Marin.

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Abrahám-Marin, M.L., Cortés-Luna, C.F., Álvarez-Rivera, G. et al. Intravitreal bevacizumab therapy for neovascular age-related macular degeneration: a pilot study. Graefe's Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol 245, 651–655 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00417-006-0411-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00417-006-0411-6

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