Know Your Medicine: Latanoprost Latanoprost is a prodrug analogue of prostaglandin F2 alpha that is used to treat elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) 👁️. It is available as ophthalmic solution for monotherapy or in a combination product with netarsudil or timolol. 🧐How does Latanoprost work? Elevated intraocular pressure leads to an increased risk of glaucomatous visual field loss. The higher the intraocular pressure, the higher the risk of damage to the optic nerve and loss of visual field. Latanoprost selectively stimulates the prostaglandin F2 alpha receptor and this results in a decreased intraocular pressure (IOP) via the increased outflow of aqueous humour. Possible specific mechanisms are the remodeling of the extracellular matrix and regulation of matrix metalloproteinases, resulting in higher tissue permeability related to humour outflow pathways, which likely change outflow resistance and/or outflow rates. 😱 Fun Facts: After patients started using Latanoprost for their glaucoma and interocular pressure, numerous reports of increased eyelash and eyebrow growth and pigmentation were reported. While there is still more research to be done, most studies report beneficial effects of topical Latanoprost for hair loss. Sources: https://go.drugbank.com/drugs/DB00654 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0039625702003077 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12013211/ #fip #fipecpg #knowyourmedicines #pharmacy #latanoprost #think_health#think_pharmacy Interested in becoming an ECPG member? Find out more here: https://www.fip.org/about-early-career-pharmaceutical-group Follow our WhatsApp channel on: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VafVnPqIHphGbcLJLG2U