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Brinzolamide 1% Found More Effective Than Brimonidine 0.15% When Added to Travoprost in Glaucoma Patients: Presented at ARVO

Brinzolamide 1% Found More Effective Than Brimonidine 0.15% When Added to Travoprost in Glaucoma Patients: Presented at ARVO


By Michael Casasnovas

FT. LAUDERDALE, F.L. -- May 1, 2006 -- The addition of brinzolamide 1% (Azopt) to a prostaglandin analog appears to be more effective for reduction of intraocular pressure than adding brimonidine 0.15% (Alphagan P), researchers said here at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) annual meeting.

"This study provides the first prospective, double-masked, parallel-group comparison of second-line additive medications to prostaglandins, " said Robert Feldman, MD, director of glaucoma services, Hermann Eye Center, University of Texas Medical School at Houston, Houston, Texas.

Dr. Feldman led a study comparing the intraocular pressure-lowering efficacy of twice-daily brimonidine 0.15% purite versus twice-daily brinzolamide 1% ophthalmic suspension as additional therapy to travoprost 0.004% in eyes of patients with glaucoma or ocular hypertension.

"This study provides a direct comparison of additive effects of brimonidine and brinzolamide to a prostaglandin analog and confirms previous retrospective findings that topical carbonic anhydrase inhibitors are more additive than brimonidine to prostaglandin analogs," Dr. Feldman explained in his poster presentation April 30^th.

Over a 3-month period, researchers screened 227 patients at 18 sites across the United States. One hundred sixty-three patients who showed insufficient response to monotherapy were randomized, 79 patients to brimonidine and 84 patients to brinzolamide. Patients were all age 35 years or older.

This study excluded patients that had previous intraocular surgery, except those with uncomplicated clear corneas. Patients that required intraocular pressure-reducing therapy in both eyes were treated with the study drug as well as the study eye, Dr. Feldman said.

Results of the study showed patients receiving brinzolamide achieved a mean diurnal intraocular pressure decrease of 2.8 mm Hg, decreasing from a baseline of 21.4 mm Hg at baseline to 18.6 mm Hg at 3 months. Patients on brimonidine reduced mean diurnal intraocular pressure from 21.4 mm Hg to 19.3 mm Hg. -- a reduction of 2.1 mm Hg. The difference in reduction was statistically significant at the P =.035 level, Dr. Feldman reported.


[Presentation title: Additivity of Brinzolamide 1.0% Vs. Brimonidine 0.15% to Travoprost 0.004%. Abstract 435]

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