Acepromazine. Effects on intraocular pressure
S. S. Hayreh, R. H. Kardon, D. L. McAllister and P. J. Fleury
Department of Ophthalmology, College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City.
We investigated the effects of the topical application of acepromazine
maleate on the intraocular pressure (IOP) in 27 adult rhesus monkeys. The
monkeys were divided into two groups: group 1 (16 monkeys) had both eyes
normal, and group 2 (11 monkeys) had experimental chronic glaucoma in one
eye and a normal fellow eye. One drop of 1% acepromazine maleate solution
was instilled in one eye of monkeys in group 1 and in the glaucomatous eye
of monkeys in group 2; the other eye served as the control. The IOP was
measured before drug administration and 1, 4, 8, 24, and 32 hours after,
with detailed slit-lamp examination of the anterior segment. Acepromazine
produced no change in IOP in eyes in group 1, but it produced a fall in
pressure in all eyes with high IOP in group 2, evident 1 hour after
instillation, maximal between 4 and 8 hours, and still remaining after 32
hours. The pupil showed no change in size, but a transient ptosis was
observed in the treated eye in all monkeys.
