[Are 0.1% timolol-maleate eyedrops suitable for treating chronic glaucoma? (author's transl)].

On the basis of 47 patients with chronic open-angle glaucoma, the administration of 0.1% timolol-maleate eye-drops was investigated in the form of a controlled long-term study over a period of 56 weeks. It was found that in a remarkable proportion of chronic glaucoma cases, this low concentration had an adequate, long-term effect, reducing IOP by 24-27%. The results obtained give sufficient grounds for the assumption that in the initial stages of glaucoma, the 0.1% solution is just as effective as solutions of a higher concentration, provided that a satisfactory degree of responsiveness to timolol-maleate is present from the outset. The local and systemic side-effects are relatively slight and therefore also fewer than with higher concentrations. Since in over 50% of patients with chronic glaucoma, 0.1% timolol-maleate eye-drops reduce IOP adequately over a considerable period of time, the 0.1% solution is to be recommended at all events for the initial treatment of glaucoma patients.