Pilocarpine
Pilocarpine is a medication used to reduce pressure inside the eye and treat dry mouth. As eye drops it is used to manage angle closure glaucoma until surgery can be performed, ocular hypertension, primary open angle glaucoma, and to bring about constriction of the pupil following its dilation. However, due to its side effects it is no longer typically used in the long term management. Onset of effects with the drops is typically within an hour and lasts for up to a day. By mouth it is used for dry mouth as a result of Sjögren syndrome or radiation therapy.
Common side effects of the eye drops include irritation of the eye, increased tearing, headache, and blurry vision. Other side effects include allergic reactions and retinal detachment. Use is generally not recommended during pregnancy. Pilocarpine is in the miotics family of medication. It works by activating cholinergic receptors of the muscarinic type which cause the trabecular meshwork to open and the aqueous humor to drain from the eye.
Pilocarpine was isolated in 1874 by Hardy and Gerrard and has been used to treat glaucoma for more than 100 years. It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines. It was originally made from the South American plant "Pilocarpus".
Q650050
pressure inside the eye
Concept
Q1162276
dry mouth
Concept
Q552308
eye drops
Concept
Q159701
angle closure glaucoma
Concept
Q9294051
ocular hypertension
Concept
Q159701
primary open angle glaucoma
Concept
Q596899
constriction of the pupil
Concept
Q335555
Sjögren syndrome
Concept
Q180507
radiation therapy
Concept
Q42982
allergic reactions
Concept
Q625164
retinal detachment
Concept
Q11995
pregnancy
Concept
Q596899
miotics
Concept
Q408520
cholinergic receptors
Concept
Q410959
muscarinic type
Concept
Q750873
trabecular meshwork
Concept
Q827681
aqueous humor
Concept
Q37155
World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines
MEDIA
Q429314
Pilocarpus
Concept
Q411461
Pilocarpine
Concept
Q411461
Pilocarpine
Concept
Q411461
Pilocarpine
Concept
1874-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1874
DATE
medical condition treated
medical condition treated
subclass of