Purpose: A prospective investigation of the effect of brovincamine fumarate, a Ca2+-channel blocker, on visual field changes in normal-tension glaucoma (NTG).
Methods: A total of 28, age- and field-matched, patients with NTG were allocated randomly to either brovincamine fumarate (20 mg 3 times daily) or placebo (3 times daily). The patients were followed at least every 4 months for a minimum of 2.5 years, and visual field examinations were carried out at least every 6 months. The mean follow-up periods (+/-standard deviation) were 39.1 +/- 8.7 months in the brovincamine-treated group and 37.9 +/- 10.1 months in the placebo group. Stepwise discriminant analyses were performed to separate the patients who showed improvement of their visual fields from those who failed to improve in the brovincamine-treated group, and to identify factors that may determine the visual field prognosis of all patients with NTG enrolled in the study.
Results: In the brovincamine-treated group, six patients showed visual field improvement, whereas none showed improvement in the placebo group using the Statpac 2 linear regression analysis. Discriminant analyses identified better cold recovery rate and higher initial systolic blood pressure to be significantly contributory to a favorable outcome in the brovincamine-treated group, and the use of brovincamine, better cold recovery rate, and higher initial systolic blood pressure were identified to be significantly contributory to a favorable prognosis in all subjects.
Conclusion: Brovincamine seems to have a favorable effect on visual field in at least some patients with NTG.