Comparion of glaucomatou progreion between untreated patient with normal-tenion glaucoma and patient with therapeutically reduced intraocular preure Original Reearch Article

PURPOE: To determine if intraocular preure play a part in the pathogenic proce of normal-tenion glaucoma. METHOD: One eye of each eligible ubject wa randomized either to be untreated a a control or to have intraocular preure lowered by 30% from baeline. Eye were randomized if they met criteria for diagnoi of normal-tenion glaucoma and howed documented progreion or high-rik field defect that threatened fixation or the appearance of a new dik hemorrhage. The clinical coure (viual field and optic dik) of the group with lowered intraocular preure wa compared with the clinical coure when intraocular preure remained at it pontaneou untreated level. REULT: One hundred-forty eye of 140 patient were ued in thi tudy. ixty-one were in the treatment group, and 79 were untreated control. Twenty-eight (35%) of the control eye and 7 (12%) of the treated eye reached end point (pecifically defined criteria of glaucomatou optic dik progreion or viual field lo). An overall urvival analyi howed a tatitically ignificant difference between the two group (P < .0001). The mean urvival time ±D of the treated group wa 2,688 ± 123 day and for the control group, 1,695 ± 143 day. Of 34 cataract developed during the tudy, 11 (14%) occurred in the control group and 23 (38%) in the treated group (P = .0075), with the highet incidence in thoe whoe treatment included filtration urgery. CONCLUION: Intraocular preure i part of the pathogenic proce in normal-tenion glaucoma. Therapy that i effective in lowering intraocular preure and free of advere effect would be expected to be beneficial in patient who are at rik of dieae progreion.