Conditions: Nail Growth Cessation Intraocular Pressure
Keywords: brittleness
Allocation: RANDOMIZED | Intervention model: PARALLEL
Enrollment: 45
Healthy volunteers: yes

Brief summary:
Topical prostaglandin agents are used to help reduce eye pressure in glaucoma patients. Bimatoprost (Lumigan 0.01%) is such an agent (Allergan, Inc.). Several of our patients on bimatoprost and an observational study of patients on bimatoprost in another center reported that fingernails grew longer and became less brittle using the topical eye drops to the eyes. The purpose of the double-blinded study is to determine whether the application of the eye drops directly to the proximal nail fold of one hand using the opposite hand as a control will result in longer nails, less brittle nails, and reduced eye pressures should any of the medication be absorbed into the systemic circulation.

Detailed description:
In addition to our observations with topical bimatoprost on fingernail growth, Wand and colleagues applied bimatoprost to the base of the fingernails demonstrating a 16.9% increase in fingernail growth from baseline, and a 10.4% increase from baseline on untreated nail beds. Other than these two reports, there are no studies addressing this topic to our knowledge based on a Medline search for off-label use of this drug. Other relevant studies have addressed increased hair and eyelash growth with the prostaglandin agents. Researching the biochemistry of the relationship of prostaglandins to hair and nail growth, the final common pathway appears to be with protein kinase C and the production of tropocollagens. The dermatology literature has demonstrated that both hair and nail keratocytes reside in the nail bed suggesting that increased collagen production may enhance the growth of both the nail bed and nail plate, possibly reducing nail brittleness.

Arms:
arm 1: * Bimatoprost 0.01% drops placed on the proximal nail folds of the right hand digits two times per day for 30 days.
* Saline solution drops placed on the proximal nail folds of the left hand digits two times per day for 30 days. arm 2: * Bimatoprost 0.01% drops placed on the proximal nail folds of the left hand digits two times per day for 30 days.
* Saline solution drops placed on the proximal nail folds of the right hand digits two times per day for 30 days.

Interventions: intervention 1: Bimatoprost 0.01% intervention 2: Placebo: saline
Intervention descriptions: intervention 1: Bimatoprost drops added to the proximal nail folds of the randomized study hand digits two times per day for 30 days intervention 2: Placebo drops added to the proximal nail folds of the hand digits opposite the study hand two times per day for 30 days

Protocol document: