Study finds that not all patients with elevated eye pressure need treatment to prevent vision loss
More than 20 years after the launch of a landmark clinical trial, follow-up examinations and analyses found that not all patients with elevated eye pressure need pressure-lowering treatment to prevent vision loss from glaucoma.
When the study was launched, it was universally accepted that all patients with elevated eye pressure should be given medication to lower that pressure. The Ocular Hypertension Treatment Study -; funded by the National Eye Institute of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and led by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis -; recruited more than 1,600 patients nationally who were at moderate to high risk for glaucoma because of elevated eye pressure. The purpose was to evaluate how successful medication was at preserving vision.
Not all patients with elevated eye pressure need pressure-lowering treatment to prevent vision loss from glaucoma, according to a new study.
The findings come more than 20 years after the launch of a landmark clinical trial, follow-up examinations, and analyses.
When the Ocular Hypertension Treatment Study launched, it was universally accepted that all patients with elevated eye pressure should be given medication to lower that pressure.
Researchers recruited more than 1,600 patients nationally who were at moderate to high risk for glaucoma because of elevated eye pressure. The purpose was to evaluate how successful medication was at preserving vision.
The researchers randomly selected half of the patients to receive daily treatment with eye drops to lower intraocular pressure, and observed the other half without treatment. After seven years, when the treatment had been shown to be highly effective, the researchers gave patients in both groups the treatment. In this latest phase
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IMAGE: Michael A. Kass, MD, (right) led the national Ocular Hypertension Treatment Study to determine whether lowering elevated eye pressure in patients might prevent vision loss from glaucoma. Kass and colleague. view more
Credit: Washington University School of Medicine
More than 20 years after the launch of a landmark clinical trial, follow-up examinations and analyses found that not all patients with elevated eye pressure need pressure-lowering treatment to prevent vision loss from glaucoma.
When the study was launched, it was universally accepted that all patients with elevated eye pressure should be given medication to lower that pressure. The Ocular Hypertension Treatment Study funded by the National Eye Institute of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and led by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis recruited more than 1,600 patients nationally who were at moderate to high risk for glaucoma because of elevated eye
Landmark study shows most patients with elevated pressure don’t go on to lose vision
April 15, 2021 SHARE Michael A. Kass, MD, (right) led the national Ocular Hypertension Treatment Study to determine whether lowering elevated eye pressure in patients might prevent vision loss from glaucoma. Kass and colleague Mao O. Gordon, PhD, recently completed follow-up studies on patients 20 years after the start of the original study and found that not all patients with elevated eye pressure need pressure-lowering treatment to prevent vision loss from glaucoma. (Photo: School of Medicine)
More than 20 years after the launch of a landmark clinical trial, follow-up examinations and analyses found that not all patients with elevated eye pressure need pressure-lowering treatment to prevent vision loss from glaucoma.