Hypotensive Effect of Latanoprost/Timolol Versus Travoprost/Timolol Fixed Combinations in NTG Patients: A Randomized, Multicenter, Crossover Clinical Trial

Citation: Shoji T, Sato H, Mizukawa A, et al. Hypotensive effect of latanoprost/timolol versus travoprost/timolol fixed combinations in NTG patients: a randomized, multicenter, cross-over clinical trial. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2013;54:6242-6247. DOI:10.1167/iovs.13-11942 PURPOSE. To compare the ocular hypotensive effect of travoprost plus timolol (TTFC) and latanoprost plus timolol fixed combinations (LTFC) in patients with normal-tension glaucoma (NTG). METHODS. A two-sequence 12-week, multicenter, prospective, randomized, single-blinded, crossover clinical trial examined 59 NTG patients. If both eyes were eligible, only one eye (chosen at random) was used for analytical purposes. After a 12-week run-in period with dorzolamide plus timolol fixed combination (DTFC), patients were randomized into one of the two crossover sequences of treatment for 12 weeks with TTFC or LTFC and were subsequently crossed over to the alternative treatment for a further 12 weeks. The primary endpoint was reduction in IOP after 12 weeks of each treatment sequence. The effect of treatment on IOP was assessed using a linear mixed model. RESULTS. The mean baseline IOP was 14.8 6 3.3 mm Hg (95% confidence interval [CI], 14.1-15.3 mm Hg) for treatment with DTFC. The TTFC treatment period showed consistently lower mean IOP compared with LTFC treatment period at all measurement time points. Mean reduction in IOP at 12 weeks was significantly greater in the TTFC group than in the LTFC group (À2.4 6 2.3 mm Hg vs. À1.1 6 2.3 mm Hg; P ¼ 0.021). No interaction between the drug and treatment sequence was detected. The effects of intraocular lens implantation and measurement time were also not significant. The tolerability profiles of both treatments were similar. CONCLUSIONS. The additional reduction in IOP was greater with TTFC than with LTFC, and their tolerability profiles were similar. (http://www.umin.ac.jp/ctr/ number, UMIN 000005974.) Keywords: fixed combination, normal-tension glaucoma, randomized study G laucoma is one of the main causes of blindness and irreversible deterioration of vision worldwide. 1 It affects approximately 70 million people and is the leading cause of irreversible blindness in approximately 10% of those affected. Approximately half of all patients with glaucoma live in East Asia. 5 Normal-tension glaucoma is often used to describe patients with open-angle glaucoma when their untreated IOP is maintained within a statistically normal range. Multicenter clinical trials have confirmed the importance of reducing IOP in patients with POAG and NTG, 8 When two drugs are required to control IOP, there are a number of potential advantages to using a fixed combination, including no risk of drug washout, 9 reduced exposure to preservatives, and ultimately better patient compliance and quality of life. 10 To our knowledge, few studies are available 11 that compare these fixed combinations in Asian patients, particularly those with NTG. Travoprost plus timolol (TTFC) and latanoprost plus timolol fixed combinations (LTFC) are prostaglandin/timolol fixed combinations medication currently available in Japan. Thus, the purpose of the present study was to compare the ocular hypotensive effect of LTFC and TTFC in glaucoma patients not fully controlled with monotherapy

Simple Dark-Field Microscopy with Nanometer Spatial Precision and Microsecond Temporal Resolution

Molecular motors such as kinesin, myosin, and F1-ATPase are responsible for many important cellular processes. These motor proteins exhibit nanometer-scale, stepwise movements on micro- to millisecond timescales. So far, methods developed to measure these small and fast movements with high spatial and temporal resolution require relatively complicated experimental systems. Here, we describe a simple dark-field imaging system that employs objective-type evanescent illumination to selectively illuminate a thin layer on the coverslip and thus yield images with high signal/noise ratios. Only by substituting the dichroic mirror in conventional objective-type total internal reflection fluorescence microscope with a perforated mirror, were nanometer spatial precision and microsecond temporal resolution simultaneously achieved. This system was applied to the study of the rotary mechanism of F1-ATPase. The fluctuation of a gold nanoparticle attached to the γ-subunit during catalytic dwell and the stepping motion during torque generation were successfully visualized with 9.1-μs temporal resolution. Because of the simple optics, this system will be applicable to various biophysical studies requiring high spatial and temporal resolution in vitro and also in vivo