Pilocarpine therapy in glaucoma: effects on anterior chamber depth and lens thickness in patients receiving long-term therapy.

The effect of pilocarpine hydrochloride on the anterior chamber depth and lens thickness was measured in 20 eyes of patients with chronic open-angle glucoma who were receiving long-term glaucoma therapy with pilocarpine. Measurements were made with high-resolution ultrasonic biometry. This study demonstrated that regardless of their age (58.4 years, average) and the fact that they had been regularly using pilocarpine from two to four times a day, 85% of these patients demonstrated narrowing of the anterior chamber (AC) depth (average, 0.19 mm) and thickening of the lens (average, 0.21 mm) with each instillation of pilocarpine. In approximately 15% of eyes, a repeatable deepening of the AC depth and flattening of the lens was noted.