Trial evaluates ranibizumab for vitreous hemorrhage

Chicago-To evaluate injections of ranibizumab (Lucentis, Genentech) compared with saline on vitrectomy rates for vitreous hemorrhage from proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR), a phase III double-masked, randomized, multi-center clinical trial was conducted by the Diabetic Retinopathy Clinical Research Network.

The study included 261 eyes of 261 study participants who were at least 18 years old and had type 1 or type 2 diabetes mellitus. Eyes were assigned to receive 0.5 mg intravitreal ranibizumab (n = 125) or intravitreal saline (n = 136) at baseline and 4 and 8 weeks.

“Overall, the 16-week vitrectomy rates were lower than expected in both groups. This study suggests little likelihood of a clinically important difference between ranibizumab and saline on the rate of vitrectomy by 16 weeks in eyes with vitreous hemorrhage from PDR,” the study concludes. (Online First, JAMA Ophthalmol. Published online January 31, 2013.)

Editor’s Note: Genentech provided the ranibizumab for the study and provided funds to defray the study’s clinical site costs. The work was supported though cooperative agreements from the National Eye Institute and the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services.

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