AIM: To investigate the effect of intravitreal injection of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF)drug Bevacizumab on connective tissue growth factor(CTGF)and pigment epithelium derived factor(PEDF)in proliferative membranes in patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy(PDR).

METHODS: From January 2015 to December 2016, 117 patients(126 eyes)with PDR were analyzed using the case-control study. The selected cases were randomly divided into two groups, respectively, Group A of 60 cases(63 eyes)and Group B of 57 cases(63 eyes). The Group A was treated with vitrectomy alone, while the Group B received intravitreal injection of 0.05mL/1.25mg bevacizumab before vitrectomy. The peeled epiretinal membranes in patients were stained and then the histopathological changes were observed for primitive cells and angiogenesis, the expression of CTGF and PEDF were tested.

RESULTS: The expression of CTGF and PEDF in the proliferative membrane of the two groups were expressed in the cytoplasm. The Group A showed positive expression in 38 cases, the positive rate was 60.3%. Compared with Group A, the positive expression rate of CTGF in Group B(92.1%)was significantly higher(P<0.05). The positive expression rates of PEDF in the two groups were 90.5% and 95.2% respectively, and there was no significant difference between the two groups(P>0.05).

CONCLUSION: In patients with PDR after intravitreal injection of bevacizumab, the retinal neovascularization is significantly reduced, which is conducive to vitrectomy. The positive expression rate of CTGF significantly increased in patients with PDR after intravitreal injection of bevacizumab, but there was no significant change in the expression of PEDF in the anterior membrane.