Emory Healthcare patients with prior exposure to PPS invited to inquire about participation.
The study, sponsored by Foundation Fighting Blindness, will look for potential complications and toxicity associated with the use of PPS, a commonly prescribed medication for interstitial cystitis. Emory Healthcare patients with prior exposure to PPS are invited to inquire about participation.
Eligible participants in this study will be asked to make one clinic visit, during which their pupils will be dilated, and their retinas examined using three different imaging techniques. All devices used for obtaining these images are FDA approved for clinical use, noninvasive, and routinely used in clinical practice. The entire screening phase will take about 30 minutes.
All subjects in this study will be provided further care in the form of a notification regarding whether or not they harbor retinal changes suggestive of a potential drug toxicity. This study will not include a visit with a physician.
We previously identified a visually disabling retinal condition among some patients who have taken pentosan polysulfate, or Elmiron,
explained the study's principal investigator, Dr. Nieraj Jain, a retina specialist at the Emory Eye Center.
Patients in that group complained of progressive visual changes impacting their ability to read and see in dim lighting. Pigmentary changes in and around their macula could resemble other conditions unless specialized retinal imaging is obtained. We designed this study to investigate the prevalence of this unique retinal condition among users of pentosan polysulfate.
Patients who are unable or unwilling to come to the Emory Eye Center for retinal imaging will instead be asked to complete a brief questionnaire, via telephone interview, regarding their interstitial cystitis and medication history.
-Kathleen E. Moore