Effect of topical tafluprost on optic nerve head blood flow in patients with myopic disc type

Purpose: To investigate the effect of topical tafluprost on optic disc blood flow in patients with myopic disc. Materials and Methods: Forty-eight eyes in 24 patients with a myopic disc type (oval shaped) optic disc tilted to the temporal, with a crescent peripapillary atrophy were included in this study. Twenty-eight eyes were diagnosed as normal tension glaucoma and 20 eyes were in normal subjects. None had any treatment for glaucoma. Average age was 45.3±11.9 years. One eye was treated with topical tafluprost and the fellow eye served as the control. Ocular blood flow was measured by laser speckle flowgraphy (LSFG-NAVI) at 30, 60, 90, and 120 minutes after tafluprost administration, and the mean blur rate (MBR) on the optic disc was analyzed. Blood pressure and intraocular pressure (IOP) were recorded. Results: In all subjects, topical tafluprost (a) significantly reduced IOP versus baseline from 60 minutes after treatment (baseline: 15.2±3.4mm Hg, 60min: 13.3±3.2mm Hg, P=0.001, 90min: 13.3±3.6mm Hg, P=0.002, 120 min: 13.7±3.4mm Hg, P=0.007); and (b) significantly increased the MBR versus baseline (60min: +4.3±6.6%, P=0.008, 90min: +5.0±4.9%, P<0.001, 120min: +6.7±7.0%, P<0.001). Conclusions: Topical tafluprost increased MBR in the optic nerve head and significantly reduced IOP, effects that may represent beneficial treatment for glaucoma patients with a myopic disc type.