advertisement
Although several classes of drugs, including FP-receptor prostaglandin agonist analogs, are available to treat elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) associated with glaucoma, novel pharmaceuticals to treat this potentially blinding disease are still being sought. With recent demonstration of potent IOP-lowering activity of serotonin-2 receptor agonists in conscious ocular hypertensive Cynomolgus monkey eyes, the prospects of this unexampled class of compounds yielding new drugs for the treatment of elevated IOP look bright. This article reviews the ocular serotonergic literature pertaining to elevated IOP in patients with ocular hypertension and glaucoma, the data on ocular hypotensive serotonin-2 agonists, and discusses their potential mechanism(s) of action at the cellular and whole-animal level. (copyright) 2011 Expert Reviews Ltd.
N. A. Sharif. Core Pharmacology and Imaging, Alcon Research, Ltd, 6201 South Freeway, Fort Worth, TX 76134, United States. naj.sharif@alconlabs.com
11.14 Investigational drugs; pharmacological experiments (Part of: 11 Medical treatment)