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Future glaucoma drugs could target trabecular outflow
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NEW YORK — The next generation of IOP-lowering drugs may target different aspects of the trabecular meshwork outflow, according to a glaucoma specialist speaking here.
Douglas J. Rhee, MD, spoke at the Ocular Surgery News Symposium about the current outlook for future glaucoma medications.
“There’s a dizzying array of medications available,” he said. “But targeting outflow is next.”
Dr. Rhee explained why the next generation of IOP-lowering drugs might aim to limit resistance to aqueous outflow. He said the aqueous humor provides nutrients and removes waste from the anterior segment structures, including the lens. Because of that, he said, it is more desirable to enhance outflow than to decrease inflow.
In experimental work, researchers have found that most resistance to aqueous outflow is in the juxtacanalicular zone immediately before Schlemm’s canal of the trabecular meshwork, Dr. Rhee said. Researchers are investigating targeting gene delivery to the trabecular meshwork, he said.
“The juxtacanalicular is not a static structure,” he said. “It is constantly undergoing remodeling.”