Abstract
Purpose::
To determine the effect of tafluprost ophthalmic solution, a new prostanoid FP-receptor agonist, on retinal and optic nerve head blood flow in healthy human eyes.
Methods::
Twelve healthy men received one drop of 0.0015% tafluprost (n=6) or 0.01% bunazosin hydrochloride (Detantol®) (n=6) in the right eye. The retinal arterial blood flow (RBF) was measured using retinal laser Doppler velocimetry (Canon CLBF-model 100, Canon, Japan). The optic nerve head blood flow (ONH) and peripapillary retinal blood flow (PBF) were measured using scanning laser Doppler flowmetry (Heidelberg, Germany). Blood pressure, heart rate, intraocular pressure (IOP), retinal arterial diameter, retinal arterial blood velocity (RV), RBF, ONH, and PBF were measured before treatment and 1 and 4 hours after drug instillation.
Results::
The IOP decreased significantly (p<0.05) in both groups. The RBF and ONH did not significantly increase in either group compared with baseline, but the RV increased significantly (p<0.05) in the tafluprost-treated eyes 4 hours after instillation. Tafluprost significantly increased PBF (p<0.05) 1 hour after instillation, but no difference was found in PBF between tafluprost- and bunazosin-treated eyes.
Conclusions::
For the first time, the results show that topical instillation of tafluprost may produce an increase in RBF similar to that of bunazosin in healthy eyes. Our results suggest that topical tafluprost can improve abnormalities of ocular hemodynamics, which may help shed light on its therapeutic potential in patients with glaucoma.
Clinical Trial::
www.umin.ac.jp/ctr/index/htm 000000518
Keywords: drug toxicity/drug effects • retina • optic flow