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Current primary open-angle glaucoma treatments and future directions

Authors Beidoe, Mousa S 

Received 18 April 2012

Accepted for publication 12 July 2012

Published 23 October 2012 Volume 2012:6 Pages 1699—1707

DOI https://doi.org/10.2147/OPTH.S32933

Checked for plagiarism Yes

Review by Single anonymous peer review

Peer reviewer comments 2



Gabriel Beidoe, Shaker A Mousa

Pharmaceutical Research Institute at Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Rensselaer, NY, USA

Abstract: Primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) is a leading cause of blindness with no known cure. Management of the disease focuses on lowering intraocular pressure (IOP) with current classes of drugs like prostaglandin analogs, beta-blockers, alpha-agonists, and carbonic anhydrase inhibitors. These treatments have not helped all patients. Some patients continue to experience deterioration in the optic nerve even though their IOPs are within the normal range. New views have surfaced about other pathophysiological processes (such as oxidative stress, vascular dysfunction, and retinal cell apoptosis) being involved in POAG progression, and adjunctive treatments with drugs like memantine, bis(7)-tacrine, nimodipine, and mirtogenol are advocated. This review examines the current and proposed treatments for POAG. Some of the proposed drugs (bis(7)-tacrine, nimodipine, vitamin E, and others) have shown good promise, mostly as monotherapy in various clinical trials. It is recommended that both the current and proposed drugs be put through further robust trials in concurrent administration and evaluated.

Keywords: bis(7)-tacrine, betaxolol, memantine, mirtogenol, POAG, timolol, travoprost

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