Timolol shows no long-term IOP drift in ocular hypertension, study says

MALMO, Sweden — Topical timolol in patients with ocular hypertension did not demonstrate long-term drift of intraocular pressure, according to a Swedish study. The findings of the study agree with previous controlled studies and conflict with uncontrolled ones, the study authors said.

Researchers here with Malmö University Hospital randomly assigned 90 patients with untreated ocular hypertension to treatment with timolol or placebo. Patients were prospectively observed at 3-month intervals for up to 10 years in a double-masked fashion.

Means and medians of all intraocular pressure (IOP) measurements were calculated. Medians were also calculated for the timolol group, assuming a worse-case scenario in which all patients who reached an end point (IOP of 35 mm Hg of more) were assumed to have a higher IOP than those remaining in the study.

Means and medians of follow-up IOP over time did not differ between the timolol and placebo-treated patients. This was also true when assuming a worse-case scenario. Slopes of IOP over time did not differ statistically between treatment groups.

The study is published in Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science.