Moxaverine has been used in therapy based on the direct vasodilatory effect of the drug, a

phosphodiesterase inhibitor A phosphodiesterase inhibitor is a drug that blocks one or more of the five subtypes of the enzyme phosphodiesterase (PDE), thereby preventing the inactivation of the intracellular second messengers, cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) and c ...

, and on its influence on the

rheological Rheology (; ) is the study of the flow of matter, primarily in a fluid (liquid or gas) state, but also as "soft solids" or solids under conditions in which they respond with plastic flow rather than deforming elastically in response to an appli ...

properties of red blood cells. Moxaverine hydrochloride (Kollateral forte®, Ursapharm. Saarbrücken, Germany) has been shown to increase ocular blood flow in patients with age-related

macular degeneration Macular degeneration, also known as age-related macular degeneration (AMD or ARMD), is a medical condition which may result in blurred or no vision in the center of the visual field. Early on there are often no symptoms. Over time, however, so ...

, primary open angle

glaucoma Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that result in damage to the optic nerve (or retina) and cause vision loss. The most common type is open-angle (wide angle, chronic simple) glaucoma, in which the drainage angle for aqueous humor, fluid withi ...

, and to increase choroidal and retrobulbar blood flow in elderly patients with eye diseases associated with hypo-perfusion. The ocular efficacy of moxaverine has been explored in the clinic.

References

Antispasmodics Benzylisoquinolines Phenol ethers Phosphodiesterase inhibitors {{gastrointestinal-drug-stub