Biomedical subjects
I M Katz
Publications and source records attributed to I M Katz.
[Efficacy and safety of long-term maintenance treatment with timolol ophthalmic solution in chronic open-angle glaucoma (author's transl)].
Timoptol Ophthalmic Solution (timolol maleate, MSD) is a topical beta-adrenergic receptor blokking agent which lowers elevated intraocular pressure when applied once or twice daily. It represents a major advance in topical therapy for glaucoma and elevated intraocular pressure. It is more effective in reducing elevated intraocular pressure and produces fewer side effects than pilocarpine and epinephrine. It does not alter pupil size or affect visual acuity. Timoptol maintained satisfactory reductions in intraocular pressure in long-term maintenance studies treating over 100 patients for up to 16 months. The drug was well tolerated and without serious adverse effects. In general, reductions in intraocular pressure for non-white patients (predominantly Blacks) were similar to the Whites.
Slow-release artificial tears and the treatment of keratitis sicca.
The slow-release artificial tear (SRAT) is a biodegradable, cellulosic polymer without preservative which is inserted beneath the tarsus of the lower lid, and which provides continuous lubrication and tear film stability to the eye. The SR-AT has been shown to reduce both subjective symptoms and objective signs in patients with keratitis sicca, and is a valuable adjunct to therapy in patients with this disease.
beta-Blockers and the eye: an overview.
Some beta-adrenoceptor blocking drugs are exciting new ocular hypotensive compounds. Unlike pilocarpine, the mainstay of glaucoma treatment for the last 100 years, beta-blocking agents do not contract the pupil nor interfere with vision even in patients with central lens opacities. They also do not cause spasm of the ciliary muscle producing transient myopia and disturbance of accommodation. Paradoxically, one of these agents, timolol, causes a fall in intraocular pressure when administered locally even in patients responding to beta-agonists with a reduction in intraocular pressure. Concomitant administration of timolol with epinephrine seems to enhance its ocular hypotensive effect in many patients. The exact mode of action of beta-blockers in reducing intraocular pressure is unknown but appears to primarily reduce aqueous production. This new class of drugs seems destined to play an important role in the treatment as well as in the understanding of glaucoma.
Trimolol: effect on intraocular pressure in chronic open-angle glaucoma.
Timolol maleate is an effective agent of reducing intraocular pressure in patients with chronic open-angle glaucoma. To date, there are no adverse side effects demonstrable with use of this medication. Its mechanism of action is not clearly delineated but preliminary data suggest an effect on outflow facility.
A soluble sustained-release ophthalmic delivery unit.
Four studies carried out in normal volunteers assessed the characteristics and acceptability of the matrix of a soluble sustained-release delivery system. Fourteen volunteers in the first study received crossover single applications of a rod- and oval-shaped soluble unit at 8 AM. Fifteen normal volunteers in the second study received soluble units at 9 PM in the inferior cul-de-sac. During the crossover phase, the units were placed into the superior cul-de-sac rather than the inferior cul-de-sac. In the third study, 15 normal volunteers received a rod-shaped unit in one eye and an oval-shaped insert in the opposite eye nightly for five successive nights. In Study 4, 24 normal volunteers subdivided into four groups of 12 eyes received an 18-mg rod, 24-mg rod, 18 mg-oval, or 24-mg oval unit at 9 PM. We concluded that the disappearance rate of these soluble units from the conjunctival sac depended on the size rather than shape and was not influenced by sleep. The soluble units were well tolerated.
Intraocular pressure decrease in normal volunteers following timolol ophthalmic solution.
Timolol ophthalmic solutions 0.5 per cent, 1.0 per cent, and 1.5 per cent lowered intraocular pressures significantly in normal human volunteers. Maximum lowering of the intraocular pressures was reached at two hours with the 0.5 per cent solution of timolol and at one hour with the 1.0 per cent and 1.5 per cent timolol ophthalmic solutions. The effect lasted the full seven hours of observations. No objective or subjective evidence of ocular irritation could be attributed to the drug. A single dose of timolol applied topically to the eyes of normal human volunteers had no effect on pupillary size, visual acuity, blood pressure, or pulse rate.
Effects of iris pigmentation on response of ocular pressure to timolol.
Timolol ophthalmic solution effectively reduced mean intraocular pressure (IOP) in Negro and Caucasian patients with chronic open angle glaucoma and untreated IOP of 22 mm Hg or higher. No differences in pressure lowering response were observed among the races although the Negroes required somewhat higher timolol concentrations to produce similar reductions from baseline IOP. Negro patients also appeared to have a more severe disease as indicated by the number of prior antiglaucoma drugs required and the untreated (baseline) pressures. An unexpected finding was the significantly greater number of Caucasians with dark irides who were discontinued from therapy because of inadequate pressure reduction.