Speaker: Data support use of ranibizumab treatment for diabetic retinopathy

KOLOA, Hawaii – Data suggest that a delay in ranibizumab therapy “results in a reduction in the chance to improve the diabetic retinopathy severity level,” a speaker said here, but stopped short of recommending it.

Using data from the RIDE and RISE trials, Michael S. Ip, MD, of the University of Wisconsin, and colleagues examined the state of progression of diabetic retinopathy in ranibizumab-treated. Diabetic retinopathy severity was found to be less likely to worsen and more likely to improve in eyes treated with continued therapy of ranibizumab.

Michael S. Ip

In the RIDE and RISE trials, patients with DME were randomized 1:1:1 to receive sham injections, ranibizumab 0.5 mg or ranibizumab 0.3 mg. At 24 months, the trials were extended. A portion of the sham patients crossed over to receive ranibizumab 0.5 mg for another 12 months, while the two original ranibizumab arms were continued on their regimens for another 12 months.

“Continued therapy is able to maintain the regressed retinopathy seen at month 24,” Ip said at Retina 2014.

Using the data to also look for patient baseline characteristics that might predict development of proliferative diabetic retinopathy, the researchers identified macular capillary loss as a factor.

“The interesting thing is that macular capillary loss at baseline does not appear to affect visual acuity treatment outcomes with ranibizumab,” Ip said.

Even though the data “provide strong evidence that ranibizumab is a highly effective therapy for diabetic retinopathy severity, we do not recommend it at this time,” Ip said, adding that the standard of care and mainstay treatment currently is panretinal photocoagulation and further testing is needed. –by Patricia Nale

Disclosure: Ip is a consultant for Eye Technology Ltd., Genentech, Neuronetics and Valeant Pharmaceuticals; and he is a contracted research for Allergan.

Reference:

Ip MS, Donalpally A, JJ Hopkins, et al. Arch Ophthalmol 2012;doi: 10.1001/archophthalmol.2012.1043.