Prevention of visual field defect progression with brovincamine in eyes with normal-tension glaucoma.
OBJECTIVE
A prospective investigation of the effect of brovincamine fumarate, a Ca2+-channel blocker, on visual field changes in normal-tension glaucoma (NTG).


METHODS
A total of 28, age- and field-matched, patients with NTG were allocated randomly to either brovincamine fumarate (20 mg 3 times daily) or placebo (3 times daily). The patients were followed at least every 4 months for a minimum of 2.5 years, and visual field examinations were carried out at least every 6 months. The mean follow-up periods (+/-standard deviation) were 39.1 +/- 8.7 months in the brovincamine-treated group and 37.9 +/- 10.1 months in the placebo group. Stepwise discriminant analyses were performed to separate the patients who showed improvement of their visual fields from those who failed to improve in the brovincamine-treated group, and to identify factors that may determine the visual field prognosis of all patients with NTG enrolled in the study.


RESULTS
In the brovincamine-treated group, six patients showed visual field improvement, whereas none showed improvement in the placebo group using the Statpac 2 linear regression analysis. Discriminant analyses identified better cold recovery rate and higher initial systolic blood pressure to be significantly contributory to a favorable outcome in the brovincamine-treated group, and the use of brovincamine, better cold recovery rate, and higher initial systolic blood pressure were identified to be significantly contributory to a favorable prognosis in all subjects.


CONCLUSIONS
Brovincamine seems to have a favorable effect on visual field in at least some patients with NTG.
Sawada
A
A
Department of Ophthalmology, Gifu University School of Medicine, Japan.
Kitazawa
Y
Y
Yamamoto
T
T
Okabe
I
I
Ichien
K
K
D000284:Administration, Oral; D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005902:Glaucoma, Open-Angle / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D014665:Vasodilator Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014749:Vincamine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D014786:Vision Disorders / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D014792:Visual Acuity; D014794:Visual Fields / Q000187:drug effects*
D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers; D014665:Vasodilator Agents; D014749:Vincamine; C033581:11-bromovincamine