Possible significance of cilioretinal arteries in open-angle glaucoma.

To study the possible prognostic significance of the cilioretinal artery in open-angle glaucoma, the disc stereophotographs of one hundred consecutive patients with bilateral open-angle glaucoma were reviewed for the presence of cilioretinal arteries. The charts of 20 patients with unilateral cilioretinal arteries were then studied for the extent of the optic disc cupping and visual field damage. Despite the absence of a significant difference in the intraocular pressure between the two groups, eyes with cilioretinal arteries showed larger cup/disc ratios and more visual field damage when compared to the contralateral eyes without cilioretinal arteries in the same patients.

Timolol inhibits corneal epithelial wound healing in rabbits and monkeys.

To determine the effect of timolol maleate on corneal epithelial wound closure, 6.4-mm (diameter) epithelial defects were created chemically in five experiments. In rabbits, wound closure was not significantly altered by the administration of 0.5% Timoptic (a commercially prepared timolol maleate solution) every eight hours, but it was inhibited during the first 15 hours of healing when a 4% solution was applied every two hours. Monkeys received a 5% solution every 12 hours and were divided into treated and control groups. Two phases of wound healing were apparent: a rapid initial phase and a slower final phase. Wound closure was inhibited in treated eyes during the initial rapid phase. This experiment repeated on the same monkeys, but with the control and treated animals switched, yielded the same result. Another experiment, with the fellow eye of the monkey used as a control, showed no significant difference in wound closure.