Ocular drug-safety study with the HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor pravastatin

35 pravastatin-treated patients with familial hypercholesterolemia were included in an ocular drug-safety study. Besides general examinations performed by the department of internal medicine a complete ophthalmological examination with special respect to lens opacities was carried out at the beginning, followed by control visits every six months. Scheimpflug photography of the eyes and densitometric image analysis provided objective data on lens transparency. After 18 months of treatment there is no evidence for any pathological lens changes induced by the drug applied. A decrease in visual acuity of 0.2 or more as seen in two eyes was not accompagnied by a corresponding increase in lens opacities. These observations correspond with the results of other HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors tested so far.