The Food and Drug Administration has approved two new drugs for the management of glaucoma. Glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness in the United States and the leading cause of irreversible blindness in the world.
Glaucoma is characterized by an increase in the pressure within the eyeball from a fluid within the eye called the aqueous humor. This increase in eye pressure, if left untreated, damages the optic nerve and leads to blindness.
Lumigan (bimatoprost ophthalmic solution) and Travatan (travoprost ophthalmic solution) are new treatment options for people who cannot tolerate or who have not responded well to other medications that lower eye pressure. In studies of patients with elevated eye pressures, Lumigan and Travatan showed similar effects for lowering intraocular pressure. Both drugs, which are in the form of eye drops, work by increasing the drainage of aqueous humor out of the eye.
“Glaucoma is a serious eye disease affecting some two million older Americans,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson. “Early detection of glaucoma and management of raised eye pressure can usually prevent vision loss. These new drugs provide additional treatment alternatives to preserve vision as well as preserve an individual’s quality of life.”
Side effects associated with Lumigan and Travatan may include redness of the eye, gradual darkening of eye color, darkening of eyelid skin, and increased thickness, number, and darkness of eyelashes.
Allergan Inc. of Irvine, Calif., will market Lumigan. Alcon Laboratories Inc. of Fort Worth, Texas, will market Travatan.
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