Reports From the Field: Glaucoma treatment best for those at greatest risk
A new drug, Travatan Opthalmic Solution works well on all groups of patients with glaucoma but provides even greater effect for African-Americans who are hardest hit by the disease, a year-long study has concluded.
The study, published in the American Journal of Ophthalmology late last year, compared the effectiveness of three different treatments for glaucoma, a leading cause of blindness in the United States.
Investigators concluded that Travatan worked as well or better than Xalatan, was superior to Timpotic, and that it worked significantly better in African-American patients.
"Given that glaucoma takes a different course in black patients than in others, understanding the variations in treatment responses will enable doctors to provide optimal treatment to their African-American patients," says Mildred Olivier, MD, a member of the National Eye Advisory Council of the National Institutes of Health.
Glaucoma affects about 3 million Americans, is the second leading cause of blindness among Americans, and is the number one cause of blindness in African-Americans. Vision loss from glaucoma is irreversible, but with early detection and treatment, vision usually can be preserved.
People at greatest risk include those over 40, people of African-American descent, people with a family history of the disease, people with diabetes, and people with high blood pressure.
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