This is an application to become a participating Clinical Center in the Ocular Hypertension Treatment Study (OHTS). The complete details of the OHTS rationale, design, and methods are contained in the OHTS Manual of Procedures. This proposal provides complete documentation of the ability of Kresge Eye Institute to screen large numbers of ocular hypertensive patients and to enroll at least 50 eligible patients over a 24-month period. Documentation is provided of the capabilities of the proposed investigator and his staff for the performance of the Study in accord with the details of the OHTS Manual of Procedures, the nature and extent of their commitment to Kresge Eye Institute, and a list of 5 ophthalmologists in the area who will refer or follow patients screened for enrollment and randomization to treatment in the OHTS clinical trial. The Principal Investigator is a fellowship trained and experienced glaucoma subspecialist actively engaged in a referral glaucoma practice at the Kresge Eye Institute, the proposed clinical center, which is a clinical center of excellence and a major eye research center as the Department of Ophthalmology for the Detroit Medical Center and the Wayne State University School of Medicine in the greater Detroit urban metropolis of 4.3 million people. The Principal Investigator performs annually about 10,000 patient examinations, about 500 incisional glaucoma surgical procedures, and about 700 glaucoma laser surgical procedures. The Principal Investigator, his clinical fellows, and residents also treat more than 5,000 patients with glaucoma or ocular hypertension at the Kresge Eye Institute residents' glaucoma clinic and the Veterans Administration Hospital Eye Clinic. In addition, the Principal Investigator has already identified from his patient population 75 ocular hypertensive patients who are candidates for the qualifying examinations of the OHTS based on the Study's eligibility and exclusion criteria. Therefore, it will be readily feasible for the Principal Investigator of the Kresge Eye Institute to enroll at least 50 eligible ocular hypertensive glaucoma suspects and if necessary many more especially with the help of the 5 collaborators, other community ophthalmologists, and with the use of effective recruitment methods.
