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 cycl ...

, 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 applied ...

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 vision, blurred or vision loss, no vision in the center of the visual field. Early on there are often no sym ...

, primary open angle

glaucoma Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that can lead to damage of the optic nerve. The optic nerve transmits visual information from the eye to the brain. Glaucoma may cause vision loss if left untreated. It has been called the "silent thief of ...

, 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