Intravitreal use of bevacizumab (Avastin) for choroidal neovascularization due to ARMD: a preliminary multifocal-ERG and OCT study

Abstract

The intravitreal use of bevacizumab may provide anatomical correlates that support the concept of disease amelioration but the functional improvement of the macula three months after treatment is not obvious. However the method is promising and needs further evaluation.

The electroretinogram: a useful tool for evaluating age-related macular disease?

“…A linear relationship was found between visual acuity and P1 response amplitudes, suggesting that bevacizumab improved retinal function. mfERG parafoveal retinal response density improvement 3 months post-bevacizumab has been demonstrated in research by Moschos et al [75] when studying eighteen eyes with CNV. Correlation between mfERG retinal response density in the central fifteen degrees and retinal thickness has been demonstrated in four eyes post-bevacizumab treatment, resulting in improvement of mfERG macular function responses with reduction in retinal thickness as measured by optical coherence tomography, although in this study ISCEV mfERG guidelines were replaced with a customised experimental m-sequence technique [76].…”

Transient Choroidal Thinning after Intravitreal Bevacizumab Injection for Myopic Choroidal Neovascularization

“…Previous studies of bevacizumab have reported a low incidence of systematic and ocular side effects, no retinal toxicity on electrophysiology and histologic evaluations, and no effects on the ganglion cells and RPE apoptosis [17][18][19][20]. However, clinically significant effects have been reported, such as the appearance of marginal cracks, which appears as hypofluorescence around the CNV after IVB for mCNV [22] and an increased number of lacquer cracks [23].…”

“…Several investigators have reported the absence of retinal toxicity by electrophysiologic and histologic evaluation, and tissue cultures showed that there were no effects on ganglion cells at an IVB concentration of 2.5 mg/ml and no increase in the rate of retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cell apoptosis after 48 hours at a concentration of 0.8 mg/ml [17][18][19][20][21]. However, we found marginal crack formation at retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) and choroid level [22], which worsens the visual outcome after IVB for mCNV [23].…”

Transitions of multifocal electroretinography following combined intravitreal bevacizumab and photodynamic therapy for polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy

“…It has been used to evaluate retinal function after PDT or intravitreal injection of bevacizumab for patients with AMD or with other macular diseases and has been proved to be a good measure to observe the functional changes of retina after treatment [19,32,33]. To assess objectively the influence of combined intravitreal bevacizumab and PDT on retinal function, we investigated the changes of the multifocal ERG at 1, 3 and 6 months after treatment.…”