Aphakic cystoid macular edema secondary to betaxolol therapy

Since the approval of timolol for the treatment of open-angle glaucoma, beta-adrenergic blocking drugs have replaced epinephrine, a pure alpha and beta agonist, as the treatment of choice for glaucoma in aphakic patients. To date, there have been no reports of cystoid macular edema secondary to timolol, a non-selective beta-adrenergic blocker that apparently has little intrinsic sympathomimetic activity. Betaxolol is a new beta-adrenergic receptor blocker that preferentially blocks beta 1 receptors. We report a case of angiographically proven cystoid macular edema secondary to betaxolol therapy that resolved after discontinuation and recurred after a monocular therapeutic trial.