A trial of a new method of delivering glaucoma medication by using a slow release punctum plug has started.
Glaucoma usually requires patients to permanently take drops once or twice a day to reduce pressure inside the eye. Patients often find it difficult to remember to take the drops or hard to get them int the eye and methods which overcome these issues would be very useful.
After an initial small trial in Singapore showed promise, this longer South African trial uses a punctum plug containing the popular glaucoma medication travoprost (Travatan) which is taken in drop form once a day. The plugs will be trialled over a period of 2 months with pressure being monitored regularly for any signs of change.
Punctum plugs are normally used for helping treat dry eye by blocking the tear ducts
The stress of the intermittent low-oxygen levels promoted a protective response called ‘tolerance’ which makes the nerve cells less prone to damage. Normal mice with glaucoma lost an average of 30% of nerve cells after 10 weeks with the condition, but the mice that were exposed to the oxygen stress lost only 3% of nerve cells.