Central Retinal Vein Occlusion Treatment

On 9/24/12, the FDA approved Eylea for treatment of central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO). What does this mean for you?

One of the most common causes for decreased vision after a CRVO is macular edema, or swelling of the center part of the retina.  Before Anti-VEGF therapy, the options for treatment were limited to steroid injections as laser did not prove to be effetive in the CVOS trial.  While steroids do have some benefit, the results were often disappointing.

Avastin (bevacizumab) injections were originally used to treat exudative macular degeneration.  Successful use of Avastin for macular edema in patients with a CRVO led to the increasing use of this therapy.  A Genentech sponsored a trial, CRUISE, demonstrated that patients receiving Lucentis (ranibizumab) gained 12.7 letters at month 6 compared to a 0.8 letter gain in sham injections. 

Eylea (aflibercept), an Anti-VEGF trap medication was approved for the treatment of macular degeneration in 2011.  A recent trial sponsored by Regeneron, COPERNICUS, compared the use of Eylea to sham injections.  Patients receiving Eylea gained17.3 letters compared to a 4 letter loss in the sham injections.

The treatment options are expanding and patients with a CRVO have more choices than ever for vision restorative therapy.

NC Retina offers Eylea at all five of our locations.

This is not intended to be medical advice.  Please seek an eye care professional for diagnosis or treatment.


Please visit us at www.ncretina.com