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New Delhi: Amid hype over the launch of an eye drop that promises to replace reading glasses, the All India Ophthalmological Society (AIOS)the top professional body of Indias ophthalmologistsis forming a panel to assess its safety, keeping in mind the drugs potential inappropriate marketing and possible indiscriminate use, ThePrint has learnt...
Even though pilocarpine 1 and 2 percent have been indicated for glaucoma for decades, it is not a drug of choice to treat the disease in most patients now, as there are safer options available now, Dr Edakhlon said.. Doctors ThePrint spoke to said that pilocarpine-induced miosis (contraction of pupils) begins 15 to 30 minutes after application and lasts for 4-8 hours, and hence, a single dose every morning will not be sufficient to sustain the effects till evening...
Additionally, there can be changes in distance vision due to fluctuating myopic shifts in refraction (increase in myopia or near-sightedness) and hence, it needs to be carefully examined whether an improvement in near vision comes at the cost of compromised distance vision, Edakhlon, who is also medical director of Comtrust Charitable Trust Eye Hospital in Thalassery, Kerala, said.. Pilocarpine can alter lens permeability, potentially leading to a shift in lens cations (positively-charged ions) and water accumulation which, in turn, can cause changes in the intraocular metabolism (metabolism in eye which involves enzymes that help prevent or eliminate foreign particles in the eye)...
An ophthalmologist at Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi also maintained that careful examination of the peripheral retina (part of retina or back of the eye that provides peripheral and night vision) is mandatory before prescribing pilocarpine, and this increases the responsibility of eye doctors to perform thorough examination of the retinal periphery before prescribing the drug...
Long-term use will cause permanent miosis due to the loss of tone (tension) in the iris radial muscles and fibrosis (development of fibrous connective tissue to replace damaged tissue) of the pupillary sphincter (muscle located in iris that constricts pupil) and may result in posterior synechiae (condition in which iris adheres to lens), causing difficulty in dilatation (expansion) for examination of retinal periphery and adequate dilatation for cataract surgery, if the patient requires it in future, Edakhlon said.. Dr K.V. Babu, another ophthalmologist from Kerala, sent a letter Friday to the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI), who heads the CDSCO, pointing out that Indias Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954, prohibits advertisement of certain drugs for treatment of certain diseases and disorders...
