Pilot Study for the Evaluation of Finasteride in the Treatment of Chronic Central Serous Chorioretinopathy
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2010-04-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC) is a retinal disorder characterized by an accumulation
of serous fluid under the retina. Although acute CSC tends to spontaneously resolve on its
own with minimal sequelae, chronic CSC tends to persist and lead to irreversible visual loss.
The pathogenesis of CSC is complex; however, systemic androgens have been implicated.
Finasteride is an anti-androgen medication that is widely used in the treatment of various
conditions. The objective of this study was to investigate the safety and potential efficacy
of oral finasteride as a treatment for chronic CSC.
Five participants with chronic CSC were enrolled into this uncontrolled, unmasked, Phase I/II
study. An oral dose of finasteride, 5 mg daily, was administered to all participants for
three months.
Following this, finasteride was withheld and participants were observed for another three
months. If a participant experienced a beneficial effect during the period in which he
received finasteride and then experienced a relapse during the observation period,
finasteride was re-instituted for the remaining period of the study. Relapse was defined as a
return to the baseline maximum lesion height and/or return to baseline lesion volume.