A once-nightly eye drop significantly improved both measured vision and symptoms of glare, haloes, and starbursts for participants in a Phase 3 study.
In a paper published in the American Journal of Ophthalmology,1 more than 20% of patients treated with 0.75% phentolamine ophthalmic solution gained three or more lines on an eye chart by day 15 – compared with just 3% treated with placebo.
The multicentre trial involved 145 adults with self-reported night vision issues, a pupil of at least 5 mm in dim light, and eye chart vision of 20/63 or worse in at least one eye under dim, low-contrast conditions.
Phentolamine caused a modest but significant reduction in pupil size under dim light, with a reduction of approximately 1 mm at days eight and 15. Side effects were generally mild and transient.
The primary efficacy endpoint was the percentage of patients who gained at least 15 letters (three lines) in the affected eye on an eye chart test of dim-light vision, measured at day eight compared with baseline.
Significantly more patients in the phentolamine group than in the placebo group achieved the primary endpoint at day eight and day 15.
Patients treated with phentolamine also rated their overall night vision problems, on a scale of 1–7, as significantly less severe than those treated with placebo at both day eight and day 15. They also reported they were less troubled by glare, haloes, and starbursts than those treated with placebo.
Reference
- Pepose JS, Montaquila S, Charizanis K, et al. LYNX-1: A Phase 3 study of 0.75% phentolamine ophthalmic solution in subjects with dim light vision disturbances. Am J Ophthalmol. 2026 Sep 2:S0002-9394(26)00500-3. doi: 10.1016/j.ajo.2026.08.045.
