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Package inserts for anticholinergic drugs (hereafter anticholinergics) now include a revised contraindication for glaucoma patients, says Japan's PMDA.·
Anticholinergics work by blocking the action of acetylcholine in the brain and at nerves. In the eye specifically, these drugs block the muscarinic acetylcholine receptor M3, which relaxes the sphincter pupillae muscle and results in pupillary dilation (mydriasis). The PMDA explained that "mydriasisinduced relative pupillary block may cause angle closure".
Glaucoma is a group of related eye conditions that cause damage to the optic...