Hi
I have attempted to post my experiences of xalatan side effects.  Why
aren't they posted?

I had manic behavior, irritatability, photophobia and burning eyes, and
lost a major job went I went off on my boss.  Lumigan was much worse.
Linda in CA

Hi Tom,
Without completely repeating or summarizing the entire package
insert from Xalatan, let me give you my clinical summary of this
medication.  Xalatan was released by Pharmacia approximately nine years
ago after quite a few years of research both here and in Europe.  I
started using it just after finishing my glaucoma fellowship in 1995.
What I have found is that this excellent drug reduces intraocular
pressure in a dramatic fashion in most of the patients I have tried it
on.  Less than 5% of my patients had a slight or minimal response (a
drop of less than 3 mm Hg).  Some had a reduction in IOP of between 10
and 15 points.  Few had any irritation.  I have had to discontinue the
drop in less than a handful of patients due to discomfort or redness of
the eye.  It is usually quite well tolerated.  I have noticed some
darkening of the iris color in some of my brown or blue/brown eyed
patients...none asked that we discontinue the drug, though, because it
was working so well.  Many have noted slightly longer or more lush
eyelashes after a while...again, no serious complaint here.  A rare
patient (one in two thousand or so) developed inflammation in the eye
or swelling in the retina...both reversable upon discontinuing the
drug.

One nice thing about Xalatan is its once-a-day dosing.  That makes it
very easy to use...it is usually used at bedtime, so most patients just
keep the bottle on their night table.

As to your specific questions, I have used this drug in, probably, 3000
or more and have NEVER seen a corneal complication, be it an infection
or an epithelial disturbance of any kind.  As for chromosome
aberrations in lymphocytes, lymphocytes are white blood cells, so I
guess it means that Xalatan can effect the genes inside of white blood
cells.  I personally don't think this has any clinical relevance of any
type...I have not had patients complain or show signs of decreased
immunity, even in terms of contracting more colds or respiratory
infections than prior to starting this drug.  Plain and simple, this is
the most safe and effective drug on the market for glaucoma with an
excellent side-effect profile and it has become my preferred first-line
drug for almost every type of glaucoma.  I would not hesitate to use it
on my own eyes if my IOP were elevated.
Hope that helps.
Rick Cohn, MD
Glaucoma Specialist