[Comparative investigations concerning the influence of pilocarpine and aceclidine on the glucose consumption of surviving ocular tissues (author's transl)].

Conservative glaucoma therapy repeated during a whole lifetime raises the question of medicamentuous tolerance. Recently, cultivation of normal lens epithelia and of iris tissue has made possible determination of metabolic functions with and without application of different medicaments. Preceding experiments revealed a diminution in glucose consumption by these tissues after addition of pilocarpine. Comparative studies show 0.25 g/100 ml medium to be maximum concentration of aceclidine allowing cellular survival. With this dilution, the glucose metabolism of lens epithelia was much more sensitive to aceclidine than to pilocarpine. This was less true for iris tissue. Accordingly, the lens of an aceclidine-treated patient requires careful observation.