Artikel
Therapy of normal tension glaucoma: hemodynamic effects of antiglaucomatous eye drops
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Autoren
Veröffentlicht: | 22. September 2004 |
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Gliederung
Text
Objective
Diminished ocular perfusion is a co-factor in the pathogenesis of normal tension glaucoma (NTG). Thus focus is on hemodynamic effects of locally applied antiglaucomatous drugs. In the present study, these effects of four common glaucoma eye drops are investigated.
Methods
Ocular hemodynamics in 52 patients with NTG were measured by Color Doppler Imaging (CDI) and Langham-OBF (LOBF) shortly before and after a one-month treatment with dorzolamide (n=15) or brinzolamide (n=8) or with latanoprost (n=10) or bimatoprost (n=11). In the control group (n=8) local and systemic medication was not changed. CDI measurements were performed with a Siemens Elegra (transducer: 7.5L40 ~9 MHz). For LOBF-measurements a clinical standard set-up was used.
Results
All applied substances lowered IOP. Treatment with dorzolamide accelerated blood flow in the posterior ciliary arteries in systole and diastole. In the brinzolamide, latanoprost and bimatoprost groups blood flow velocities tended to increase, but not statistically significantly. The LOBF did not change in any therapy group. In the control group all parameters including the IOP and the LOBF remained stable.
Conclusions
Only dorzolamide changes ocular hemodynamics; brinzolamide which like dorzolamide inhibits the carbonic-anhydrase did not. This leads to the conclusion that the hemodynamic effect of dorzolamide cannot be attributed to the inhibition of the carbonic-anhydrase. The hope for an easy improvement of ocular perfusion by local application of drugs established in glaucoma treatment seems to be an illusion. The positive message of this study is that none of the tested eye drops had negative influences on ocular hemodynamics.