Dorzolamide may help treat CME in patients with retinitis pigmentosa, Usher's syndrome

Researchers evaluated the effect of sustained topical dorzolamide, 2%, on cystic macular lesions in 32 patients (64 eyes) with retinitis pigmentosa or Usher syndrome who received treatment for six to 58 months. Changes in visual acuity and central foveal zone thickness on optical coherence tomography were measured for the duration of treatment.

Central foveal thickness decreased in most cases, with 16 (67 percent) showing a reduction of more than 11 percent in at least one eye, while visual acuity improved by at least seven letters in one eye in more than 30 percent of cases. More than 40 percent of patients showed an improvement in macular cysts in both eyes. Macular cysts worsened in eight patients.