Effect of Anti-glaucoma Agents on Myopic Retinoschisis

PURPOSE: To evaluate the effect of intraocular pressure (IOP)-lowering medications on myopic retinoschisis. METHODS: The medical records of 33 patients (36 eyes) with myopic retinoschisis associated with pathologic myopia were reviewed retrospectively. The patients were divided into two groups: the study group comprising patients undergoing treatment with anti-glaucoma medications for suspected glaucoma; the control group comprising patients who did not use any IOP lowering medications. The changes in retinoschisis in the two groups were compared using the Spectralis domain optical coherence tomography thickness map protocol. RESULTS: The study group included 18 eyes (17 patients), and the control group included 18 eyes (16 patients). There were no significant differences between the 6-month and 12-month improvement or aggravation rates of the two groups (p = 0.513 and 0.137, respectively). However, after 18 months, the aggravation rate of retinoschisis was significantly lower in the study group (p = 0.003). The improvement / aggravation rate was 58.33% / 16.67% in the study group and 0% / 57.14% in the control group. CONCLUSIONS: The use of IOP-lowering medications for more than a year may be useful for the management of retinoschisis associated with pathologic myopia.