Use of dorzolamide for patients with X-linked retinoschisis

Purpose: To determine the value of a topical carbonic anhydrase inhibitor for the treatment of foveal lesions in patients with X-linked retinoschisis (XLRS). Methods: Eight patients with XLRS and foveal cystic-appearing spaces by funclus examination and by optical coherence tomography (OCT) were treated with a topical form of carbonic anhydrase inhibitor. Changes in "foveal thickness" and "foveal zone thickness" were measured by OCT, and changes of best-corrected visual acuity were measured by Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) charts. Results: Seven of eight patients treated with 2% dorzolamide had a noticeable reduction in foveal thickness as well as cystic-appearing spaces by OCT. This reduction was found in both eyes in four of these patients and in one eye in one patient after 1 month of treatment. After an additional 1 month to 2 months of the same treatment regimen, two additional patients also had a noticeable reduction in foveal thickness as well as cysticappearing spaces. Of these seven patients who had an improvement shown by OCT with treatment, five also had improvement of their visual acuity by >= 7 letters in at least one eye on ETDRS charts. Conclusion: The present study shows the efficacy of topical dorzolamide for treating foveal cystic-appearing lesions in patients with XLRS.