Antihypertensive therapy with a single daily dose of acebutolol in essential hypertension, response and ophthalmological assessment in the Japanese.

Twenty patients with essential hypertension were given 400 mg acebutolol once daily for 24 weeks. In order to study if side effects resembling the "Practolol syndrome" developed, ocular effects were sought and antinuclear antibody (ANA) in blood was assessed before and after treatment. ANA was negative both before and after the study in 17 patients; in one patient ANA was positive, but the titre (1:10) was low and did not change during the study. Acebutolol produced no undesirable effects on cornea, conjunctiva or lens. During acebutolol treatment, tear secretion was reduced but tear lysozyme concentration was not significantly altered. Overall, acebutolol had no undesirable action similar to the practolol-induced syndrome, nor did it cause such common clinical ocular symptoms such as dry or gritty eyes.