Purpose: To evaluate a twice daily 0.2% brimonidine tartrate effect on retrobulbar circulation with color Doppler in glaucomatous patients. Methods: Both eyes of sixteen patients with glaucoma were studied. Using a Color Doppler imaging, peak systolic, end diastolic velocity and resistive index was determined in the ophthalmic artery, central retinal artery and temporal short posterior ciliary artery before and after 0.2% brimonidine treatment. Results: 0.2% brimonidine tartrate significantly improved peak systolic (28.24 to 34.23 cm/seg) and end diastolic velocities (6.72 to 8.10 cm/seg) in the right eye and decreased resistive index (0.75 to 0.71) in the ophthalmic artery of the left eye. Conclusions: A twice daily 0.2% brimonidine tartrate treatment significantly increased peak systolic and end diastolic velocity and reduced resistive index in ophthalmic artery in patients with chronic glaucoma. This effect suggests that brimonidine could benefit glaucoma patients with optic nerve head vascular insufficiency.
Optic disk; Glaucoma; Quinoxalines; Color Doppler ultrasonography
