stroke

Avastin Safety Report

The Wall Street Journal and Marketwatch featured articles on the safety of Avastin.  Johns Hopkins University did an analysis of the Medicare patient claims database and reported that the use of Avastin for AMD showed a statistically significant increased risk for mortality and stroke as compared to Lucentis.  They cautioned that this analysis of 78,000 patients did not include information on smoking, lipid levels and blood pressure levels, all factors in mortality and stroke risk.

 

AMD and Stroke

The Cardiovascular Health Study suggests that persons with early AMD have a higher risk of coronary heart disease and stroke (Ophthalmology 2009;116:1913-1919).

AMD has many of the same risk factors and causes as coronary heart disease: smoking, tissue inflammation and damage caused by high blood pressure, thickening and hardening of the arteries, and genetic factors.

Syndicate content