More Evidence Links Common Bladder Drug to Retinal Damage

Pentosan polysulfate sodium (PPS), used widely for interstitial cystitis, may lead to retinal damage, according to a new study that adds weight to this previously suggested link, as reported by Reuters.

Interstitial cystitis causes chronic bladder and pelvis pain and more than 1 million people in the United States, mostly women, are estimated to suffer from it. PPS is the only drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat the condition.

An initial report published last year in Ophthalmology (http://bit.ly/2pnlahU) and presented at the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) 2018 annual meeting described maculopathy associated with chronic exposure to PPS in six patients taking the drug for about 15 years. Nothing in the patients’ medical history or diagnostic tests explained the abnormalities.

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