Tolbutamide Eye Drops Increase Aqueous Humor Outflow and Lower Intraocular Pressure: A Proof of Concept for Glaucoma Treatment

Abstract

Background: Glaucoma refers to a heterogeneous group of diseases characterized by retinal cell degeneration and optic nerve atrophy leading to blindness. Even though about 40% of patients have normal intraocular pressure (IOP), current treatment. focuses on lowering IOP. With time, current drugs become less effective, which has motivated the search for novel drugs.The objective was to establish whether modulators of ATPsensitive potassium channels influence IOP.

Phase-Transition Thermodynamics of Tolbutamide

“…1 Despite the fact that production of tolbutamide was reduced due to side effects and the emergence of more efficient analogues, it is still the subject of numerous investigations focused on its metabolism, 2 preparation, 3 and new medical applications. 4 Several works devoted to the thermodynamic properties of tolbutamide, mostly focused on the solid−solid and solid− liquid transitions 5−12 and solubility of different polymorphs, 5−9,13−16 have been published in the last decades. Such interest is due to the fact that the phase state strongly influences bioavailability.…”

“…Tolbutamide (Figure ) is a pharmaceutical compound from the sulfonylurea group used in the treatment of diabetes mellitus . Despite the fact that production of tolbutamide was reduced due to side effects and the emergence of more efficient analogues, it is still the subject of numerous investigations focused on its metabolism, preparation, and new medical applications …”