Effect of topical tafluprost on optic nerve head blood flow in patients with myopic disc type

To investigate the effect of topical tafluprost on optic disc blood flow in patients with myopic disc.

Forty-eight eyes in 24 patients with a myopic disc type (oval shaped) optic disc tilted to the temporal, with a crescent peripapillary atrophy were included in this study. Twenty-eight eyes were diagnosed as normal tension glaucoma and 20 eyes were in normal subjects. None had any treatment for glaucoma. Average age was 45.3±11.9 years. One eye was treated with topical tafluprost and the fellow eye served as the control. Ocular blood flow was measured by laser speckle flowgraphy (LSFG-NAVI) at 30, 60, 90, and 120 minutes after tafluprost administration, and the mean blur rate (MBR) on the optic disc was analyzed. Blood pressure and intraocular pressure (IOP) were recorded.

In all subjects, topical tafluprost (a) significantly reduced IOP versus baseline from 60 minutes after treatment (baseline: 15.2±3.4 mm Hg, 60 min: 13.3±3.2 mm Hg, P=0.001, 90 min: 13.3±3.6 mm Hg, P=0.002, 120 min: 13.7±3.4 mm Hg, P=0.007); and (b) significantly increased the MBR versus baseline (60 min: +4.3±6.6%, P=0.008, 90 min: +5.0±4.9%, P<0.001, 120 min: +6.7±7.0%, P<0.001).

Topical tafluprost increased MBR in the optic nerve head and significantly reduced IOP, effects that may represent beneficial treatment for glaucoma patients with a myopic disc type.