Attempt to arrest eye growth by means of ocular hypotony.

Attempt to retard growth of the eye in 4 young rabbits by means of prolonged ocular hypotony maintained by timolol-maleate were not successful. The eyes treated with 0.5 timolol twice a day showed a sustained hypotensive response of 4-5 mm Hg which lasted for the 4 months experimental period. No significant differences in size and on rate of growth in the treated and the untreated eyes were noted. In fact, over the 4 months postnatal period, both groups of eyes increased 0.5 mm per week in axial length. Our experiment suggests that in developing rabbit eyes, at least reduction of IOP is not a factor in effecting a smaller globe.