[Thrombolytic treatment of retinal arterial occlusions with plasminogen activator]

Tissue-type plasminogen activator (rt-PA), a gene-technologically manufactured fibrinolytic compound, has been employed successfully for treatment of cardial and peripheral arterial vascular occlusions. The advantage of this compound is its lytic effect. It selectively displays its effect in therapeutic dosage on fresh thrombuses, showing only minimal influence on physiological clotting as such. Two patients with stop of the retinal arterial bloodflow in videofluorescence angiography were treated with short term lysis with 100 mg rt-PA, the onset of therapy was 7 and 6.5 hours after loss of vision. Already during the infusion of the compound reperfusion was achieved. Inspite of the relatively late onset of treatment, the visual fields of both patients improved. We assume lytic therapy with rt-PA to be an effective therapy for patients with retinal arterial occlusion, if applied within the first eight hours after acute loss of vision. The number of patients who could potentially benefit from this therapy is limited considering the high rate of spontaneous reperfusion before the first eye exam in 84% of the cases and considering the manifold contraindications for this therapy: 35% of the patients above 70 years of age, 56% of the patients with arterial hypertension (RR 160/100 and above) as well as 10% of the patients treated with Coumarine-derivatives should not undergo lysis. Only 43% of the patients with occlusion of central retinal artery and 21% of the patients with occlusion of retinal branch arteries received the first eye exam within the first 8 hours after the occlusion.