J Korean Ophthalmol Soc.  2000 Nov;41(11):2386-2390.

Effect of Oral Nifedipine on the Temporal Peripapillary

• Hyon JY
• Lee JJ
• Kim DM

Abstract

Compromise of the tissue circulation plays a significant role in the development of optic nerve damage in normal-tension glaucoma (NTG). To evaluate the effect of nifedipine on the blood flow of peripapillary retina, blood flow of 7 NTG patients were measured using Heidelberg Retina Flowmeter before and 1 hour after oral administration of nifedipine 5 mg.Before treatment, NTG eyes had significantly reduced blood flow than control eyes (245.99+/-132.91 vs.303.38 +/-121.07, p=0.036).After treatment, nifedipine increased blood flow (245.99 +/-132.91 vs.329.37 +/-189.17, p=0.005)and decreased intercapillary square (49.78 +/-17.30 micrometer vs.47.13 +/-15.13 micrometer , p=0.049)significantly in the NTG eyes, but did not affect blood flow in the control eyes (303.38 +/-121.07 vs.309 +/-85.53, p=0.756).These results show that glaucomatous optic nerve damage is accompanied with blood flow deficits and nifedipine improve ocular hemodynamics in normal-tension glaucoma.

Keyword

Blood flow; Calcium channel blocker; Nifedipine; Normal-tension glaucoma

MeSH Terms

Administration, Oral
Flowmeters
Glaucoma
Hemodynamics
Humans
Nifedipine*
Optic Nerve
Retina
Nifedipine