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Updated: May 23, 2026

An Ex Vivo Tissue Culture Model for Fibrovascular Complications in Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy
Published on: January 25, 2019
[Macular ischemia following intravitreal bevacizumab therapy for diabetic macular edema]
Yosuke Nakamura1, Norio Takeda, Tomoaki Tatsumi
1Department of Ophthalmology, Hospital, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Japan. yonakamu@hosp.ncgm.go.jp
Purpose:
To examine the effects of macular ischemia after intravitreal bevacizumab (IVB) in patients with diabetic macular edema(DME).
Methods:
Thirty-three eyes of 33 patients with DME were treated with IVB. Fluorescein angiography (FA) was conducted before and 3 months after IVB, the pretreatment sizes of the foveal avascular zone (FAZ) calculated by FA were compared to the values at 3 months after IVB. This study was approved by the Chiba University Hospital Clinical Research Ethics Committee.
Results:
After IVB, the size of the FAZ enlarged significantly (p = 0.03). Among the 33 patients treated with IVB, 2 patients (6%) had advanced macular ischemia with an FAZ enlarged by 50% or more. In both patients, the visual acuity did not worsen and the foveal thickness decreased.
Conclusions:
It is possible that IVB led to macular ischemia.