The Development of B-Adrenergic Blocking Drugs for Management of Primary Open-­Angle Glaucoma

Abstract

In the last few years, there has been a marked increase in the number of drugs available for the management of open-angle glaucoma. The development of these newer ophthalmic drugs has been prompted by a desire to make available, to the public, products that display max­imum efficacy (with respect to the glau­coma) but minimal side effects on the body generally or on the health of the eye or on vision. The major development has been in a set of drugs active on {B-adren­ergic receptors (the B-blockers"). While many of these newer drugs are, as yet, available only in Europe or Japan, in 1986, three new ophthalmic B-blockers became available in the English-speaking world. It is our intent in this article to review why there has been this major expansion in the number of drugs avai­lable to manage glaucoma or ocular hypertension...