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Simvastatin may reduce risk of visual field progression in patients with glaucoma, study reveals
Thursday, March 11 2010 | Comments
What's This?
Simvastatin may have a protective effect with regard to visual field (VF) stabilization in patients with normal tension glaucoma (NTG), according to new evidence. In the prospective cohort study, researchers followed 256 patients receiving care at the Hong Kong Eye Hospital in China for NTG; follow-up lasted 36 months. Thirty-one patients (12.1%) received simvastatin at a dose of 20 mg to 40 mg, and the other 225 patients (87.9%) did not. The primary outcome was the association between simvastatin use and VF progression.
During the follow-up period, 121 patients (47.3%) experienced VF progression. Of these, 8 (6.6%) were taking simvastatin. Of the 135 patients who did not experience progression, 23 patients (17%) were taking simvastatin.
According to the results of the logistic regression analysis, there was a higher risk of VF progression if the patients had a history of optic disk hemorrhage or cerebrovascular accidents. Older age at baseline was also identified as a significant risk factor. The analysis also revealed that simvastatin use reduced the risk of VF progression by a significant 64%.
"A larger scale randomized controlled trial and cost-effectiveness analyses seem warranted," the study authors concluded. (Leung DYL, et al. Ophthalmology 2010;117:471-476.)
This information concerns a use that has not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
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