The IOP-lowering effect of timolol in simple and capsular glaucoma. A multicenter study in Finland.

Timolol maleate eye drops (0.25% and 0.5%) were used alone or in combined treatment in 220 patients with simple or capsular glaucoma. A highly significant (P less than 0.001, mean -9.4 mm Hg,-29%) decrease in the intraocular pressure (IOP) was seen in 196 (164 simple, 32 capsular) patients in the beginning of the study using timolol alone. (Inadequate control timing, deviation from the treatment definition, or adverse reactions caused the exclusion of the data of 24 patients). A total of 180 patients (151 simple, 29 capsular) completed the 6-month study. At the end of the study an IOP less than 22 mm Hg was seen in 103 (57.2%, 91 simple, 12 capsular) patients treated with timolol alone. During the follow-up period there was no significant difference in the IOP-lowering effect of timolol in the simple and the capsular group using timolol alone. Combined treatment was needed by 39 of 180 patients who completed the study. It was needed more than twice as often in the capsular group (12 patients, 41.4%) as in the simple group (27 patients, 17.9%). The IOP increased above 25 mm Hg in one-fourth of these 39 patients during the follow-up period, but there was no significant difference between the simple and the capsular group. Six patients dropped out of the study because of side-effects possibly related to timolol therapy.