Retinopathy in premature babies successfully treated with Avastin

Retinopathy of prematurity is a condition that affects mainly low-birth-weight infants and is the number one cause of childhood blindness in the world. A new study showed that intravitreal injections of Avastin (bevacizumab) was more successful in treating retinopathy of prematurity than conventional laser therapy. The study involved 150 infants and was conducted by a team of researchers from the University of Texas in Houston. The researchers discovered that the infants who received the intravitreal injections of Avastin had a recurrence rate of 6% compared to a recurrence rate of 26% in infants who received the laser therapy. The benefits of the intravitreal injections is that it is much more cost effective and can be administered at the bedside. Laser therapy, on the other hand, necessitates the use of special equipment, facilities, specially trained staff and endotracheal intubation. A substantial loss of the visual field can also be a result of the use of laser therapy.* Elise Ervin Staff Writer