The journal Ophthalmology recently reported on the use of bevacizumab, popularly known as Avastin, for treating diabetic patients with macular edema as well as people who develop cystoid macular edema after cataract surgery.

It is important to note here that Bevacizumab is presently being used and indicated for treating many forms of cancer.

From Sciencedaily.com:

Treating DMME with bevacizumab (Avastin), an anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) medication that inhibits abnormal blood vessels, was studied in115 patients (139 eyes) by the Pan-American Collaborative Retina Study Group, led by J. Fernando Arevalo, MD, of the Caracas Central Ophthalmologic Clinic, Venezuela. Within one month of the initial intravitreal bevacizumab (IVB) injections, improvement could be detected. By the end of the 24 month follow-up period vision had improved in 51.8 percent of eyes and 97.1 percent of eyes were either stable or improved. No serious adverse effects occurred.

The Pan-American Collaborative Retina Study Group also reviewed the use of bevacizumab in patients with post-cataract surgery cystoid macular edema (CME) who had not responded to standard treatment. Twenty to 30 percent of all cataract surgery patients develop CME, in which the macula swells as fluid-filled cysts form. Usually the condition resolves without treatment and causes no permanent vision loss, but in a small percentage of patients vision remains worse than 20/40 and treatment is needed. Standard treatments include steroids, non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs), other medications, or surgery.

Diffuse DME (DDME) usually shows resistance to laser and other standard treatments; treatment of DDME with bevacizumab can be an effective option with no serious adverse effects.