[Pressure lowering effect and side effects of 0.5% and 1.0% levobunolol eyedrops, compared with 0.5% timolol eyedrops in patients with open-angle glaucoma].

Fifty patients with open-angle glaucoma were treated twice daily for one year with topical 0.5% levobunolol, 1% levobunolol, or 0.5% timolol. Both concentrations of levobunolol were as effective as timolol in reducing intraocular pressure over the one-year period. At the concentrations tested, levobunolol and timolol decreased heart rate to a similar extent, suggesting that systemic absorption occurred after topical instillation. In all three treatment groups, clinically insignificant changes in blood pressure were observed sporadically throughout the one-year period. Very few clinically significant toxic ocular reactions were observed.