■ A 54-patient Japanese study demonstrated a promising IOP-lowering effect resulting from an initial intravitreal injection of aflibercept (Eylea; Regeneron) for patients with neovascular glaucoma. In the phase 3 VEGA study, patients with IOP greater than 25 mmHg resulting from neovascular glaucoma were divided into 2 groups. One group received aflibercept and the other was given a sham treatment. Before being randomized, all patients received initial pretreatment with IOP-lowering drops from at least 3 classes. They were then randomized to the 2 groups and followed for 13 weeks.

At week 1, a greater percentage of patients who had received aflibercept at baseline experienced IOP lower than 21 mmHg (44.4% vs 7.4% in the sham group) and improvement in iris neovascularization grade (70.4% vs 11.5% in the sham group). These improvements were typically maintained through week 13. The data were presented at the 2018 Euretina meeting.