Toxin-free eye drop 'could be a sight saver'

Published on Sunday 20 September 2009 19:08

A NEW eye drop treatment could help preserve the sight of thousands at risk of going blind, it is claimed today.

The glaucoma drops are the first of their kind that avoid unpleasant side-effects which can put patients off.

It is estimated that a third of people with glaucoma risk sight loss because they stop complying with their treatment.

Half a million people in the UK suffer the condition, which causes gradual loss of vision due to damage to the optic nerve.

Glaucoma is most commonly treated with eye drops that reduce fluid pressure in the eye.

But until now the treatments have contained a detergent preservative that can cause side-effects in some patients, including burning, itching, tears, or a "dry eye" sensation.

Many patients simply refuse to apply the drops because of the discomfort, thereby putting themselves at risk of vision loss.

Regular use of the eye drops can keep the condition under control for a patient's life time. Without them, a patient can go blind in five to ten years.

When the disease becomes too advanced the only remedy is surgery, which is risky and may itself result in blindness.

The new treatment, taflu-prost, contains none of the detergents that prompt adverse reactions and is more "patient friendly" than its predecessors.

Marketed as Saflutan, it is available in the UK from today and licensed for the reduction of elevated fluid pressure in the eye, or intraocular pressure (IOP).

Keith Martin, consultant ophthalmologist and glaucoma expert at Addenbrookes Hospital, Cambridge, said: "Today, for the first time, people in the UK will have access to a toxin-free sight-saving treatment that is powerful, well-tolerated and does not cause damage to the eye."