Bevacizumab versus Ranibizumab — The Verdict
Philip J. Rosenfeld, M.D., Ph.D.
April 28, 2011 (10.1056/NEJMe1103334)
ArticleReferences
For 5 years, patients and clinicians have wrestled with the choice between two drugs for the treatment of neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a common cause of irreversible blindness among the elderly worldwide. Vision loss results from the abnormal growth and leakage of blood vessels in the macula, a specialized portion of the retina responsible for the best visual acuity. Without this macular vision, patients become legally blind. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), the cytokine primarily responsible for blood-vessel growth, is inhibited when anti-VEGF drugs are injected repeatedly into the eye, and blindness is prevented in most patients. The majority of treated patients go on to have some improvement in vision.
A well planned study comparing the effects of these two drugs : Bevacizumab vs Ranizumab (50 dollars per month vs 2000 dollars per month for one injection into the eye) showed that the produce the same results.
This is not the first time that expensive medications have proved not to do what they were advertised to do.
In the field of Diabetes: no drug has been, in practical terms, shown to be superior to the old fashioned METFORMIN.. all the new drugs sometimes ten times more expensive, are no better than METFORMIN and Change in the Quality of LIFE
All that Glitters is not God has never been so true... in the introduction of newer medications for chronic diseases.
Dont be the first to use a new medication, and at the same time dont be the last one either, said a professor of mine at University of Miami.
THE first known case of clogged arteries, or atherosclerosis, has been found in the mummy of an Egyptian princess, said a study presented on Sunday at a major US cardiology conference.
Researchers have long known that ancient Egyptians suffered from plaque build-up in the arteries that supply the heart, but the latest finding suggests that the syndrome may be more prevalent, and mysterious, than previously thought.
"Commonly, we think of coronary artery or heart disease as a consequence of modern lifestyles, mainly because it has increased in developing countries as they become more westernised," said Gregory Thomas of the University of California, Irvine.
"These data point to a missing link in our understanding of heart disease, and we may not be so different from our ancestors," he said.
Researchers performed computerised tomography (CT) scans on 52 Egyptian mummies to determine whether they had atherosclerosis.
Of the 44 that had detectable arteries or hearts, 45 per cent of them had calcium build-ups in their vessel walls.
The oldest among them was an Egyptian princess who likely lived between 1580 and 1550 BC, and probably died when she was in her early 40s, researchers believe.
Even though ancient Egyptians ate a leaner diet, including less meat, and did not smoke cigarettes, they ended up with the same disease as modern humans.
But that does not mean people should disregard modern research, said co-author of the study Adel Allam of Al-Azhar University in Cairo.
"Recent studies have shown that by not smoking, having a lower blood pressure and a lower cholesterol level, calcification of our arteries is delayed," said Allam.
"On the other hand, from what we can tell from this study, humans are predisposed to atherosclerosis, so it behooves us to take the proper measures necessary to delay it as long as we can.
