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Abstract #6217 Published in IGR 2-2
Effect of oral Losartan potassium administration on intraocular pressure in normotensive and glaucomatous human subjects
Costagliola C; Verolino M; De Rosa ML; Iaccarino G; Ciancaglini M; Mastropasqua LExperimental Eye Research 2000; 71: 167-171
The effects of the type 1 angiotensin II receptor antagonist Losartan potassium on intraocular pressure (IOP) were studied. Four groups of subjects were analyzed: group A, ten controls; group B, ten patients with essential arterial hypertension and with IOP within the normal range; group C, ten patients with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG), but without essential arterial hypertension; group D, ten patients with arterial hypertension and POAG. The study design was held in a randomized, crossover, double-blind fashion. Systolic and diastolic arterial pressure, heart rate, pupil diameter, IOP, and total outflow facility, were recorded at baseline and at one-hourly intervals up to six hours, following the oral administration of 50 mg Losartan potassium and/or placebo. The alternative treatment was given a week later. Drug administration significantly reduced IOP in all subjects. No variation in heart rate or pupil diameter was observed during the follow-up period. Blood pressure only dropped in arterial hypertensive patients (groups B and D). Total outflow facility increased significantly in all groups. Placebo did not induced any variation in any of the groups. These findings demonstrate that the mechanism by which Losartan potassium reduces IOP is not mediated by a decrease in blood pressure, but rather it is more specific, confirming the role of the renin-angiotensin system also in the regulation of IOP in humans.
Dr. C. Costagliola, Via F. Petrarca 41/a, 80122 Naples, Italy
Classification:
11.15 Other drugs in relation to glaucoma (Part of: 11 Medical treatment)
