[Pharmacology aspects of glaucoma].

The aim of all treatment for glaucoma is to lower intra-ocular pressure. During the past decade, the short-action cholinergic agonists, eserine and pilocarpine, that have been used for over a hundred years have been replaced as the drugs of choice by beta-blockers, in particular the non-selective beta-blocker, timolol maleate. Of the series of drugs developed in recent years for the treatment of glaucoma, two types--carbonic anhydrase inhibitors and prostaglandin analogues--are undergoing phase III trials. The article provides an account of the pharmacological basis of glaucoma treatment today and in the immediate future.