title: Short- and long-term safety of glaucoma drugs.
abstract: Glaucoma, a leading cause of blindness worldwide, is a chronic neurodegenerative disorder. Patients with glaucoma may require long-term administration of intraocular pressure (IOP)-lowering medications. These medications belong to several classes of molecules including beta-adrenergic blockers, cholinergic agents, alpha-adrenergic agonists, carbonic anhydrase inhibitors and ocular hypotensive lipids. Most adverse effects associated with IOP-lowering medications are mild and ocular in nature; however, several of them are associated with systemic risks as well as serious ocular effects, especially following chronic use. The following review discusses the acute and long-term effects of commonly used IOP-lowering medications.
authors.affiliation: New England Eye Center, Tufts-New England Medical Center, Tufts University School of Medicine, 750 Washington Street, Box 450, Boston, MA 02111, USA. jss2002@attbi.com
authors.forename: Joel S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Schuman
mesh_terms: D000316:Adrenergic alpha-Agonists / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000319:Adrenergic beta-Antagonists / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002257:Carbonic Anhydrase Inhibitors / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005901:Glaucoma / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D007429:Intraocular Pressure / Q000187:drug effects; D012449:Safety; D013999:Timolol / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D000316:Adrenergic alpha-Agonists; D000319:Adrenergic beta-Antagonists; D002257:Carbonic Anhydrase Inhibitors; D013999:Timolol