Travoprost- and Tafluprost-induced Changes in Intraocular Pressure and Ocular Pulse Amplitude

Purpose: To compare the intraocular pressure reduction and changes in ocular pulse amplitude of travoprost 0.003% and tafluprost 0.0015%. Methods: We assessed patients who were diagnosed with open-angle glaucoma from January 2017 to July 2019 for the first time at our hospital. Forty-two eyes were assigned to the travoprost group (23 patients) and 26 eyes were assigned to the tafluprost group (14 patients). Changes in intraocular pressure were measured by Goldmann applanation tonometry (GAT), and corrected ocular pulse amplitude (cOPA) was measured using dynamic contour tonometry. Changes in these parameters were observed and compared for 1 year. Results: No significant differences were observed between the GAT measurements and the cOPA of patients treated with travoprost and tafluprost for 1 year (p = 0.512, p = 0.105). The change in initial intraocular pressure on GAT observed after 1 week was -5.32 ± 2.63 mmHg for travoprost and -3.79 ± 3.19 mmHg for tafluprost (p = 0.0457). The initial change in cOPA was +0.04 ± 0.9 mmHg in the travoprost group and -0.76 ± 0.97 mmHg in the tafluprost group (p = 0.0028). Conclusions: Travoprost and tafluprost reached the targeted intraocular pressure with no difference in the long-term effects of reduced intraocular pressure. However, travoprost was initially better at lowering intraocular pressure faster, and tafluprost had a greater effect on lowering OPA. Prostaglandin analogs can be selected individually by considering the aforementioned factors.

Changes in ocular pulse amplitude and choroidal thickness in childhood obesity patients with and without insulin resistance

Purpose: To compare choroidal thickness (CT) and ocular pulse amplitude (OPA) in childhood obesity with insulin resistance (IR) and without IR. Methods: Seventy-three childhood obesity and 62 healthy children, who were both age-matched and gender-matched, comprised the study population in this prospective study. Obesity was determined as having a body mass index (BMI) – standard deviation (SD) score that was > 2 SD. Intraocular pressure (IOP) and OPA were measured using a dynamic contour tonometer. The CT measurements were performed using enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography at three locations, comprising at the fovea, at a position 500 µm nasal, and also at a position 500 µm temporal to the fovea. Results: Mean BMI value was 28.72 ± 4.85 in the patients with childhood obesity and 21.47 ± 1.14 in the control group. The mean IOP and OPA values were determined 15.90 ± 2.30 and 14.10 ± 2.16 mm Hg, 1.50 ± 0.28 and 1.74 ± 0.32 mm Hg in the patients with childhood obesity and the control group, respectively ( p < 0.001, p < 0.001). The mean subfoveal CT value was 350.50 ± 81.51 μm in the eyes with childhood obesity and 390.02 ± 71.50 μm in those of the control group ( p = 0.003). When the patient groups with and without IR were compared, no significant difference was found between CT, OPA and IOP values ( p > 0.005). Conclusions: Our results showed that both OPA and CT values were significantly decreased in childhood obesity patients. We suggest further studies to verify longitudinal changes in OPA and CT, as also the evaluation of these parameters in other populations.