ROPROP

Extremely premature infants are at risk of developing a potentially blinding eye disease, retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). Currently available treatment, consisting of laser surgery or injection of drugs into the eye balls, may prevent most but not all cases of permanent ROP-mediated blindness. Both types of treatment are associated with significant costs and side effects. An orally administered drug commonly used to treat hypertension, propranolol, may be effective in halting progression of ROP to severe stages, as suggested by preliminary data from small studies. Propranolol has been used for decades not only in adult patients but also in newborn infants with heart diseases. Moreover, it has been licensed in 2014 for the use in newborn infants with hemangiomas. The ROPROP trial, a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial involving 21 hospitals in Germany, Switzerland, Turkey and Israel, will assess the effectiveness of oral propranolol in combating ROP.