A Comparison of the Effect of Dorzolamide and Timolol on Optic Disk Blood Flow in Patients With Open Angle Glaucoma
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2003-12-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Glaucoma is one of the most common causes of blindness in the industrialized nations. For a
long time glaucoma has been defined as a disease in which high intraocular pressure (IOP)
leads to irreversible optic disk damage and concommitant visual field loss. However, recent
investigations show that IOP is not necessarily an adequate measure of clinical severity or a
predictor of clinical progression: about 20% of all eyes with high IOP do not develop visual
field loss and some patients suffering from visual field loss due to optic disk damage have
normal IOP. Hence, factors other than IOP are likely involved in the pathogenesis of
glaucoma. The role of vascular factors in the pathogenesis of glaucoma has recently received
much attention and optic nerve head hypoperfusion may play a critical role in the development
of glaucoma. It may therefore be important for an optimal prevention of visual field defects
in glaucoma that the topical antiglaucoma drugs used do not only reduce IOP but also
stabilize or enhance the perfusion of the optic nerve head.
Therefore, the aim of the present study is to compare the effect of a 3 months treatment with
timolol or dorzolamide in patients with open angle glaucoma on optic disk blood flow.