Glaucoma News - Новости Глаукомы. Potential protective benefit of statin treatment.

A review of a large patient database suggests the answer may be yes. Joshua D Stein MD, MS and colleagues recently reported findings from a study they conducted which supports the notion that statins may be beneficial in patients with open-angle glaucoma (OAG).

The findings along with additional evidence from population-based studies and the basic science literature, provide justification for undertaking a prospective interventional study to investigate a role for statins in OAG management [Ophthalmology 2012;119:2074-81].

Dr Stein and colleagues from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, evaluated associations between statin treatment and risks of OAG development and disease progression using data from enrollees in a large managed care network with members throughout the US.

They identified approximately 524,000 patients age 60 years or older who had hyperlipidemia and received eye care between 2001- 2009. About 316,000 of those patients had at least one prescription for a statin, of which some 93,000 also received a non-statin lipid-lowering medication, and about 21,000 patients were prescribed a non-statin only during their time in the plan. In multivariable regression analyses, after adjustment for sociodemographic factors and medical and ocular comorbidities, they found a statistically significant, duration-related effect of statin treatment on the risk for developing OAG, with the risk decreasing 0.3 per cent for every additional month of statin treatment.

In addition, every additional month of statin treatment conferred a 0.4 per cent decreased risk for both progression from a diagnosis of glaucoma suspect to OAG and for requiring medical treatment for OAG.