Lumigan just as effective as latanoprost/timolol combination

Treatment with bimatoprost (Lumigan; Allergan) alone is as effective at lowering intraocular pressure (IOP) as a fixed combination of latanoprost and timolol, according to the results of a study published in the December 2007 issue of Ophthalmology.

Luca Rossetti from the University of Milan, Italy and colleagues from centres in Germany, the United Kingdom, Greece and Switzerland enrolled 200 patients with glaucoma or ocular hypertension into a randomized, double-masked, multicentre clinical trial to compare the effect of bimatoprost and a fixed combination of latanoprost and timolol (LTFC) on 24-hour mean IOP.

Included in the study were patients who were controlled (IOP < 21 mmHg) on the non-fixed combination of latanoprost and timolol for at least three months before the baseline visit or patients on monotherapy with either latanoprost or timolol who were eligible for dual therapy not being fully controlled on monotherapy. The latter group of patients underwent a six-week wash-in phase with the non-fixed combination of latanoprost and timolol before baseline IOP determination and study inclusion. Supine and sitting position IOPs were recorded at 8 pm, midnight, 5 am, 8 am, noon and 4 pm at baseline, six week and 12 week follow-up.

Mean baseline IOPs were 16.3±3.3 mmHg and 15.5±2.9.mmHg in the bimatoprost and LTFC groups, respectively. At week 12, mean IOPs were 16.1±2.5 mmHg for the bimatoprost group and 16.3±3.7 mmHg for the LTFC group. No significant differences between the two treatment groups were found. As compared with baseline, mean IOP increased by 0.3±3.6 mmHg during the day and decreased by 0.8±3.8 mmHg during the night in the bimatoprost group, whereas there were increases of 1.43±2.6 mmHg during the day and 0.14±3.2 mmHg at night in the LTFC group.

The authors of the study concluded that bimatoprost is not inferior to LTFC in maintaining IOP at a controlled level during a 24-hour period in patients who switched from the non-fixed combination of latanoprost and timolol.