Durysta is a cutting edge glaucoma treatment.
The Durysta™ implant is smaller than the “I” in “LIBERTY” on a dime. (dime enlarged to show detail).
Glaucoma is the leading cause of blindness and visual impairment in the United States. Unfortunately, because many patients with open-angle glaucoma don’t experience symptoms, they may not be aware that they have the disease.
A big challenge in managing open-angle glaucoma (OAG) and ocular hypertension (OHT) has been getting patients to comply with taking medicated eye drops essential for managing intraocular pressure (IOP). In fact, 80% of glaucoma patients do not use their prescribed topical drops as instructed, either due to side effects or forgetfulness. That is why the Durysta the Dursta™implant was invented. There are several reasons for Glaucoma eye drop non-compliance:
- Having difficulty inserting the eye drops properly, resulting in spilled medication and under-dosing
- Forgetting to insert your eye drops at the scheduled time
- Forgetting to carry eye drops with you to maintain your dosing schedule while away from home
- Being allergic to the pressure reducing eye drops or the preservatives within the medication
- Having side effects, such as dry eye, from the pressure-lowering eye drops
- Having eye conditions that disqualify you from being a candidate for pressure-lowering eye drops
How does Durysta work?
The bimatoprost implant is biodegradable and breaks down naturally over time, so you do not require another procedure to remove the delivery system. It simply dissolves and is eliminated by your body. In fact, most patients continue to have controlled intraocular pressure levels even after Durysta has broken down.
How long does Durysta last?
Durysta implant is designed to last several months, which means that you will only have to follow-up with our doctors a few times per year to have the medication implant inserted in your eye.
Meanwhile, you’ll be free of having to deal with inserting eye drops and worrying about whether the correct amount of medication actually got into your eye.
What are the side effects of Durysta?
As with any medication, clinical trials have shown that some people can experience side effects from Durysta. However, the interesting thing about the Durysta trials was that patients who were randomized to receive Durysta actually experienced FEWER side effects than the control group patients taking standard glaucoma eye drops. “It’s highly unusual for a new medication to exhibit fewer side effects than the standard medicine it’s being compared to, but that’s exactly what happened with Durysta. The Durysta patients had fewer complaints and tolerated the medication better than the patients using traditional glaucoma eye drops. Fewer side effects and better eye pressure control makes for a compelling argument to consider switching to Durysta” says AEI’s Glaucoma specialist Dr. Avneet Sodhi Gaur. Some adverse events for Durysta patients can include:
- Eye redness
- Eye irritation
- Eye pain
- A foreign body sensation within the eye
- Light sensitivity (photophobia)
- Blurred vision
- Headache
- Conjunctival hemorrhage
- Iritis
- Increased intraocular pressure
This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur. Also, the safety of taking Durysta during pregnancy has not been studied. Dr. Surekha Collur can provide more detailed medical advice about any side effects.