Pilocarpine therapy in glaucoma: effects on anterior chamber depth and lens thickness in patients receiving long-term therapy

D. H. Abramson, S. Chang and J. Coleman

The effect of pilocarpine hydrochloride on the anterior chamber depth and lens thickness was measured in 20 eyes of patients with chronic open-angle glucoma who were receiving long-term glaucoma therapy with pilocarpine. Measurements were made with high-resolution ultrasonic biometry. This study demonstrated that regardless of their age (58.4 years, average) and the fact that they had been regularly using pilocarpine from two to four times a day, 85% of these patients demonstrated narrowing of the anterior chamber (AC) depth (average, 0.19 mm) and thickening of the lens (average, 0.21 mm) with each instillation of pilocarpine. In approximately 15% of eyes, a repeatable deepening of the AC depth and flattening of the lens was noted.