Topical drug therapy in glaucoma.

Glaucoma is defined as a progressive optic neuropathy involving characteristic structural changes in the optic nerve head and corresponding visual field defects. Elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) is a major risk and causative factor for glaucomatous optic neuropathy. Although mechanisms other than elevated IOP may contribute to the underlying pathophysiology of glaucoma, reducing IOP remains the primary goal of therapy. Recent clinical studies have shown that decreasing the IOP can delay, or in some cases prevent progression of this chronic ocular disease. Over the past decade, several new medical therapies have become available for the treatment of glaucoma. In this article a review of topical glaucoma therapy is presented.