Comparing Surgical and Drug Treatment Options.

• Position: DIABETIC EYE DISEASE - Clinical report

Surgical and injectable drug approaches are equally effective for treatment of bleeding inside the eye from proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR), according to a National Eye Institute-supported clinical study from the DRCR Retina Network. A consequence of diabetes, PDR involves the growth of new, abnormal blood vessels in the light-sensing retina. These blood vessels are prone to bleeding into the gel-like vitreous that fills the eye, causing vision loss.

Researchers compared anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) eye injections vs. removal of blood via vitrectomy surgery and laser photocoagulation. Both treatments improved central vision for the majority of participants, although approximately one-third of the patients needed both anti-VEGF injections and surgery. The findings will help guide treatment for people with bleeding in the eye from PDR.

Vitrectomy surgically removes the blood from inside the eye. To prevent more blood vessels from forming, vitrectomy usually is paired with a laser treatment (laser photocoagulation). This often restores central vision, but the laser treatment may reduce peripheral vision. More recently, NEI-supported trials found that anti-VEGF injections into the eye help control PDR and other diabetic eye complications. These drug treatments decrease the growth of blood vessels in the eye and prevent...