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Protein kinase inhibitor reduces retinal vascular leakage, study finds
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Orally administered ruboxistaurin was associated with reduction of retinal vascular leakage in eyes with diabetic macular edema, according a Danish study.
Charlotte Strøm and colleagues at the University of Copenhagen studied the effect of oral ruboxistaurin in 41 patients with diabetic macular edema in an 18-month, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-masked trial. Forty-two eyes of 30 patients were assigned to 4 mg, 16 mg or 32 mg of ruboxistaurin, and 13 eyes of 11 patients who received placebo served as controls. Retinal vascular leakage was assessed using vitreous fluorometry at baseline and at 3, 12 and 18 months after treatment.
Statistical analysis and modeling demonstrated a significant interaction between ruboxistaurin treatment at any dosage and baseline permeability. A threefold or higher increase in retinal vascular leakage at baseline was associated with a 30% reduction in retinal vascular leakage after ruboxistaurin treatment compared with placebo. Visual acuity was unchanged from baseline.
The study is published in the October issue of Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences.