Statins and Other Cholesterol-Lowering Medications and the Presenceof Glaucoma

Abstract

To explore whether oral statin and other antihyperlipidemic medications are associated with openangle glaucoma. Methods: The administrative clinical databases maintained at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Birmingham, Ala, were used to conduct a matched case-control study. Cases were all male patients aged 50 years and older with a new diagnosis of glaucoma on an outpatient or inpatient visit during the period January 1, 1997, through December 31, 2001. Ten control subjects were matched to each case according to age (within 1 year). Prescription files were assessed for statin use as well as additional medications to lower cholesterol levels. Information on comorbid medical conditions was also obtained. Conditional logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results: Longer duration of statin use was associated with a lower risk of open-angle glaucoma (P for trend = .04) primarily among subjects with 24 months or more of use (OR, 0.60; 95% CI, 0.39-0.92). When stratified by comorbid medical condition, among those with cardiovascular disease (OR, 0.63; 95% CI, 0.42-0.97), lipid metabolism disorders (OR, 0.63; 95% CI, 0.41-0.99), and the absence of cerebrovascular disease (OR, 0.76; 95% CI, 0.58-0.99), statins demonstrated a protective effect on open-angle glaucoma. Finally, a protective association was also observed among those who used nonstatin cholesterol-lowering agents (OR, 0.59; 95% CI, 0.37-0.97). Conclusions: Initial examination of an administrative clinical database indicates the intriguing possibility that long-term use of oral statins may be associated with a reduced risk of open-angle glaucoma, particularly among those with cardiovascular and lipid diseases. Nonstatin cholesterol-lowering agents were also associated with a reduced risk of having open-angle glaucoma. Additional investigation is warranted as to whether these classes of agents may provide an additional therapeutic addition for glaucoma.

Radiation treatment inhibits monocyte entry into the optic nerve head and prevents neuronal damage in a mouse model of glaucoma

“…Statins are also known to reduce transendothelial migration. Interestingly, some studies have shown that long-term statin use appears to be associated with a reduced risk of open-angle glaucoma (78,79). However, given both the robust and long-term efficacy of a single dose of xray radiation in preventing cellular entry into the optic nerve and retina, it will be important to further evaluate the use of x-rays for preventing glaucoma and other inflammatory conditions.…”

Pharmacotherapy of Glaucoma

“…104 In addition, retrospective analysis of patient data indicate that intake of statins is protective for glaucoma. 105 In the absence of randomized large-scale trials, it is, however, difficult to fully explore the impact of systemic therapies on glaucoma incidence and progression, because a disease-modifying effect of the underlying disease can never be ruled out.…”

EFFECT OF SYSTEMIC ADMINISTRATION OF HMG C o A REDUCTASE INHIBITOR ATORVASTATIN ON CENTRAL RETINAL ARTERY FLOW DYNAMICS, INTRA OCULAR PRESSURE AND VISUAL FIELD CHANGES IN PRIMARY OPEN ANGLE GLAUCOMA AND NORMAL TENSION GLAUCOMA PATIENTS

“…Senn B. et al [18] administered Simvastatin for a period of three months in hypercholesterolemic subjects and found no significant change in the RBF. McGwin et al [19] reported that statin use may be associated with reduced risk of glaucoma, but author did not provide any data on the effect of statins on IOP. Nagaoka T. et al [11] found significant decrease in IOP from 14.3±0.4mmHg to 12.4±0.…”