Glaucoma News

Pregnant Women Should Use Right Glaucoma Medication

TAIWAN, June 2009 — A new study found that taking certain glaucoma eye drops other than beta-blockers during pregnancy can increase the risk for low birth weight infants.

After adjusting for characteristics of the infant, mother and father, researchers found no significant difference in infant birth weight between the control group and mothers who took beta-blockers that decrease fluid production in the eye.

But significantly higher risks of having low birth weight infants were noted when mothers used other types of anti-glaucoma eye drops.

Based on these results reported in the June issue of the British Journal of Ophthalmology, researchers concluded that topical beta-blockers are the best drug choice for treating pregnant women who have glaucoma.

Are Glaucoma Med Contact Lenses in Our Future?

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., June 2009 — Can contact lenses deliver glaucoma medications to the eyes?

It's an idea that has been around for a while, with no effective product in sight. But now a Cambridge, Mass., company called Eyenovations is patenting their lens's method of delivering high doses of drugs for up to 100 days in a gradual, controlled fashion, according to a May 21 report in Technology Review (a Massachusetts Institute of Technology publication).

People with glaucoma would be prime beneficiaries of the new technology, since they must use glaucoma eye drops several times a day to control their eyes' intraocular pressure. Many glaucoma patients do not follow their eye drop schedules very carefully, and vision loss can result.

Other medications could be delivered via a contact lens as well, such as antibiotics and dry eye treatments.

Eyenovations has reportedly begun testing the lens in animals.

Studies Confirm Safety of Punctal Plug Delivery
Method for Glaucoma Medication

ATLANTA, April 2009 — The idea of delivering glaucoma medication to the eye with a punctal plug has passed two important tests: an initial pilot study and a phase II clinical trial, during both of which the device reduced intraocular pressure (IOP) without serious side effects. (See November 2008 item, with slide show.)

In the phase II clinical trial conducted in the United States, 61 people with bilateral glaucoma were fitted with punctal plugs containing the glaucoma medicine Latanoprost (QLT, Inc.). The researchers tested three different concentrations of the medication in the plugs, which were in place in patients' tear ducts for three months.

As investigator Richard A. Lewis, MD, noted at the 2008 annual meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, for safety reasons the dosage was significantly less than patients normally would receive during a three-month period. That may be why IOP reduction was only 4 to 5.5 mm, vs. a 6 mm reduction during the smaller pilot study that had occurred in Mexico.

Dr. Lewis added that the device needs more work to improve the drug's performance and increase tolerance of the punctal plugs. Results were reported in the April issue of Ophthalmology Times.

Can Alzheimer's Disease Actually Cause Glaucoma?

BEERNEM, Belgium, March 2009 — Studies have shown that people with Alzheimer's disease may be significantly more likely to develop glaucoma than other people. But researchers disagree as to the clinical and genetic relationship between the two diseases.

It may be that they share risk factors. Or perhaps one disease causes or contributes to the development of the other.

An article by Belgian researchers in this month's British Journal of Ophthalmology hypothesizes a causal relationship. This is based on low cerebrospinal fluid pressure (CSFP) in Alzheimer's patients. A recent study found that mean CSFP was 33 percent lower in study participants with primary open-angle glaucoma than in those without glaucoma.

Low CSFP in tissue behind the eye means an abnormally high pressure difference with the tissue inside the eye, pinching and deforming the nerve fibers and blood vessels passing through both. This helps cause glaucoma-related optic nerve damage.

[Read more about the possible link between Alzheimer's and glaucoma.]

Glaucoma Could Impair Reading Skills in Older Adults

BALTIMORE, January 2009 — A recent study demonstrates that glaucoma eye disease could slow down verbal and general reading skills in older adults.

During the study, 1,154 people of an average age of 79.7 were asked to read text aloud. Subjects with glaucoma (4.4 percent) were more likely to have impairment, meaning they were unable to read more than 90 words per minute. Impairment was even more evident in people who had glaucoma in both eyes.

"Glaucoma affects 2 percent of U.S. adults older than 40 years, and as many as 10 percent have suspected glaucoma," researchers at Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University said in published study results. "Determining who should be treated requires that we understand when and how glaucoma produces disability."

Study results were published in the January issue of Archives of Ophthalmology.

Glaucoma Drug That Lengthens Eyelashes Receives FDA Approval

IRVINE, Calif., December 2008 — A glaucoma drug that can lengthen and thicken eyelashes received FDA approval this month for cosmetic uses, after an advisory committee unanimously recommended the action.

Allergan Inc. officials said the product could be launched for cosmetic use in 2009, under the name Latisse.

Known by the generic name bimatoprost, the drug ordinarily controls internal eye pressure to prevent potential eye damage from glaucoma.

These before-and-after photos demonstrate eyelash growth from a drug ordinarily used to treat glaucoma.

The drug also causes a side effect of thicker eyelashes.

Similar products previously marketed for cosmetic uses lacked FDA approval and were withdrawn after threats of enforcement and lawsuits.

According to Allergan, Latisse has undergone appropriate clinical trials for safety and could be the first FDA-approved product available for consumers interested in longer, thicker eyelashes.

While glaucoma eye drops containing bimatoprost are applied directly to the eye, Latisse is placed only on the roots of eyelashes, to promote growth.

Glaucoma drugs containing bimatoprost can cause additional side effects such as eye irritation or darkened eyes, especially if they are lighter-colored. However, these drugs are applied directly to the eye.

Tiny Punctal Plugs Deliver Glaucoma Drug to Eye

VANCOUVER, November 2008 — A punctal plug the size of a grain of rice is being tested for long-term, sustained delivery of glaucoma medication to control high intraocular pressure (IOP). High IOP can damage the eye's optic nerve.

A punctal plug loaded with glaucoma medication is inserted into the lower tear duct of the eye. Over time the drug disperses throughout the eye, for a convenient way to treat glaucoma without eye drops. Images: QLT Inc.

In the Latanoprost Punctal Plug Delivery System (QLT Inc.), a non-invasive punctal plug containing medication is inserted into a small drainage channel in the eye. The drug then penetrates the eye during a sustained release. For the study, the punctal plug is left in place for 12 weeks.

QLT officials say current FDA clinical trials demonstrate effectiveness of this method of delivering medication to the eye's interior, where eye pressure is controlled in primary open-angle glaucoma.

Company officials say they are optimistic about prospects for use of the drug delivery system, which could help address compliance problems among people who must use glaucoma eye drops daily to control high intraocular pressure.

Do Glaucoma Eye Drops Cause Depression?

MELBOURNE, October 2008 — Recent news reports explore a possible link between depression and use of certain glaucoma eye drops known as beta-blockers.

Older people prone to depression should avoid using beta-blocker eye drops to lower internal eye pressure to help control glaucoma, University of Melbourne psychiatry professor Isaac Schweitzer told the Associated Press.

In an account published in the October issue of The Medical Journal of Australia, Schweitzer described a severe case of depression directly associated with an elderly man's use of glaucoma eye drops.

At different intervals in the man's life, depression symptoms disappeared when beta-blocker eye drops were discontinued. The man did not experience symptoms such as lethargy when he used other types of glaucoma eye drops.

FDA Clears New Glaucoma Drug for Testing

DURHAM, N.C., September 2008 — The FDA has cleared an investigational glaucoma drug, INS117548 Ophthalmic Solution (Inspire Pharmaceuticals), for early stage clinical trials to determine if the novel treatment can control high eye pressure associated with glaucoma.

The new treatment works differently from currently approved glaucoma drugs by targeting and improving function of the eye's trabecular network, a structure through which eye fluids pass. In glaucoma, a build-up of eye fluids can lead to spikes of intraocular pressure that can damage the optic nerve.

Patents related to the new drug discovery are based on research by Paul Kaufman, MD, professor and department chair for the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Benjamin Geiger, PhD, professor of molecular cell and tumor biology and dean of biology at Israel's Weizmann Institute of Science.

Generic Version of Glaucoma Eye Drop Recalled

OTTAWA, July 2008 — A generic prescription eye drop used to control high internal eye pressure in glaucoma has been recalled because of an error in formulation leading to an excess of an active ingredient, according to a warning issued by a Canadian public health agency (Health Canada).

The generic drug, Sandoz Timolol Ophthalmic Solution (Novartis), is sold in strengths of 0.25 percent and 0.5 percent. The public health warning says taking the improperly formulated drug could lead to side effects such as eye irritation, redness, inflammation (including of eyelids), a droopy eyelid, heart failure, shortness of breath, low blood pressure, slow heartbeat, headache and double vision.

Anyone using this specific brand of eye drop is advised to stop immediately and to contact an eye doctor to make sure another eye drop can be prescribed so that treatment for glaucoma is not interrupted. Anyone who has this product should return it to a pharmacy.

Further information can be obtained by calling Health Canada's public information number at 1-613-957-2991 or toll free at 1-866-225-0709.

Glaucoma Drug May Be Used To Stimulate Eyelash Growth

IRVINE, Calif., June 2008 — Allergan Inc. officials say they will seek FDA approval to market a glaucoma drug, bimatropost, to stimulate eyelash growth for cosmetic purposes.

A new drug application will be filed in the third quarter of 2008 as a follow-up to an Allergan clinical trial demonstrating that bimatoprost safely creates significant eyelash growth when applied to the base of eyelashes.

Extra eyelash growth is listed as a potential side effect of using bimatropost, marketed as Lumigan, when applied as glaucoma eye drops to control intraocular pressure.

Allergan officials said the worldwide mascara industry logs about $3.7 billion annually in sales. If bimatropost is approved for eyelash lengthening, Allergan would expect the drug to be on the marketplace in early 2009 with projected global sales of more than $500 million annually.

Last year, Allergan sued Jan Marini Skin Research for patent violations when bimatropost was used in a product known as Age Intervention Eyelash, which has been withdrawn from the marketplace.

New Class of Drugs May Eventually Be Used as Glaucoma Treatment

BRUSSELS, Belgium, May 2008 — A new class of drugs known as vaptans could eventually be used to treat diseases such as glaucoma because of their potential to regulate body fluids, according to a report in the British medical journal The Lancet.

Vaptans may be a useful glaucoma treatment because abnormal build-up of fluid and pressure within the eye associated with the eye disease can damage the optic nerve, which is crucial for good vision.

Researchers from Erasmus University Hospital in Brussels mentioned the potential of vaptans as a new drug class for a wide range of diseases, including glaucoma, cirrhosis and Menière's disease (an inner ear disorder).

Vaptans (vasopressin-receptor antagonists) affect a hormone (vasopressin) that helps regulate the body's blood circulation and water control.

Low Cerebrospinal Fluid Pressure Linked to Glaucoma

ROCHESTER, N.Y., May 2008 — Mayo Clinic researchers have found new evidence that low cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pressure may be significantly linked to optic nerve damage related to glaucoma, according to the May issue of Ophthalmology.

Fluids (CSF) within the spine and brain have many roles, including maintaining healthy neural or nerve function.

Investigators studied cases of 31,786 people who underwent procedures in which CSF samples were taken for analysis for various health reasons. In all 28 cases involving people who had primary open angle glaucoma, CSF pressure was found to be significantly lower compared with that of other individuals without glaucoma.

Scientists say this finding may indicate a connection between low CSF pressure and abnormally high internal or intraocular pressure that can lead to eye damage in glaucoma.

Alcon's Anecortave Acetate May Help Control Glaucoma

WASHINGTON, D.C., March 2008 — Promising results from a study of Alcon's experimental drug treatment for glaucoma, anecortave acetate, were reported at the American Glaucoma Society annual meeting.

The study was aimed at evaluating safety and effectiveness of anecortave acetate involving 89 people diagnosed with open-angle glaucoma, which often is linked to high intraocular pressure (IOP) that can damage the optic nerve.

After three months, more than half of the study participants who had received eye injections of anecortave acetate (7.5 mg or 15 mg) achieved normal levels of IOP, compared with only 6.4 percent of individuals who did not receive the same treatment.

Adverse events such as eye pain occurred in a small percentage of cases.

Alcon officials said these early findings now mean that late-stage clinical trials will continue during 2008 to evaluate results at higher dosages and frequencies.

"Over-Expression" of Gene May Explain How Glaucoma Develops

FORT WORTH, February 2008 — Elevated eye pressures leading to glaucoma and potential vision loss may be linked to "over-expression" of a specific gene, according to a team of investigators led by Alcon Research.

"The cause of glaucoma and the resulting elevation of intraocular pressure has been poorly understood," said Abe Clark, PhD, vice president of discovery research and head of glaucoma research for Alcon. "This new discovery may allow researchers to develop therapies to treat the underlying cause of the disease."

Researchers from the University of Iowa and National Cancer Institute found that excessive activity of the gene sFRP1, found within eye cells, appears to contribute to higher eye pressure and damage to the optic nerve, which can cause glaucoma. Study results were published in the Feb. 14 online edition of Journal of Clinical Investigation.

Annual Costs of Glaucoma Medications Vary Widely

TEMPLE, Texas, January 2008 — Annual costs of glaucoma medications vary widely depending on the type prescribed, according to a study by Texas A & M University System Health Science Center College of Medicine.

Researchers found that glaucoma medications controlling eye pressure account for roughly half of the $2.5 billion spent annually in the United States on managing the eye disease.

Annual costs per individual range from about $151 for generic timolol maleate 0.5% (beta-blocker) to about $874 for Alphagan P 0.15% (alpha-adrenergic agonist, Allergan), at three times daily dosing.

Study results were published in the January issue of American Journal of Ophthalmology.

Please click here for more glaucoma news from 2007.

[Page updated June 2009]