Preterm babies are at high risk of abnormal blood vessel growth in the retina, the light-sensitive tissue in the back of the eye. These abnormal blood vessels are fragile and prone to leaking. If left untreated, vessel growth can lead to scarring and retinal detachment, the main cause of ROP-related vision loss. ROP is one of the leading causes of blindness in children.
Established ROP treatments include laser therapy and cryotherapy. Both interventions work by causing the abnormal blood vessels to stop growing before they can cause scarring and retinal detachment.
A study was conducted by the Pediatric Eye Disease Investigator Group (PEDIG) and supported by the National Eye Institute (NEI), part of the National Institutes of Health. This study concluded babies born prematurely who require treatment to prevent blindness from retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) could be treated with a dose of Avastin (bevacizumab) that is a fraction of the dose commonly used for ROP currently.
Avastin (Bevacizumab) is one of several available drugs that inhibit abnormal blood vessel growth by suppressing the overproduction of a signal protein called vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF).
Results from the dose-finding study were published April 23 in JAMA Ophthalmology.
Study results can be found in https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02390531?term=NCT02390531&draw=1&rank=1
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