OPHTHALMIC COMPOSITION AND METHOD OF USE

The invention relates to a method for temporarily alleviating the symptoms of glaucoma. Conventional therapy for glaucoma is with pilocarpine and/or epinephrine administered topically several times daily. One of the problems with many conventional drugs for the treatment of glaucoma is that they decrease the size of the pupil, i.e., they are miotic drugs. This is an undesirable side effect, resulting in temporarily impaired vision. The present invention minimizes these difficulties by providing a method of reducing IOP and for treating glaucoma in which there is a minimum of miotic side effects. The present invention relates to a therapeutic composition comprising a topically administrable ophthalmic pharmaceutical carrier and an effective amount of an alkaloid selected from colchicine or vinblastine. The present invention also relates to a method for reducing intraocular pressure and for temporarily alleviating the symptoms of glaucoma in humans comprising topically administering to the eyes of a human, having increased intraocular pressure or having glaucoma an effective amount of the foregoing composition.