New eye drop for farsighted may help get rid of reading glasses: Research

HQ Team

September 22, 2025: A specially formulated eye drop to treat presbyopia or near vision loss may get rid of the reading glasses, according to a study presented at the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons (ESCRS).

The study on 766 patients found that a majority of them could read, for two years, an extra two to three lines on an eye test chart after using the formulation. It was led by Dr Giovanna Benozzi, director of the Center for Advanced Research for Presbyopia, in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

“We conducted this research due to the significant unmet medical need in presbyopia management. Current solutions, such as reading glasses or surgical interventions, have limitations, including inconvenience, social discomfort, and potential risks or complications,” she said, according to an ESCRS statement.

“There is a group of presbyopia patients who have limited options besides spectacles, and who are not candidates for surgery; these are our primary focus of interest. 

“We sought to provide robust clinical evidence supporting an innovative pharmacological solution to offer patients a non-invasive, convenient and effective alternative.”

Muscle controlling the eye

The disease develops with age. The eye drops, developed by Dr Benozzi’s father, the late Dr Jorge Benozzi of the same centre, contain a combination of two active agents — one of them is pilocarpine, a drug that constricts the pupils and contracts the ciliary muscle, which is a muscle controlling the eye’s accommodation for seeing objects at varying distances.

The other is diclofenac, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug that reduces inflammation and the discomfort that pilocarpine often causes.

Patients were administered the eye drops twice a day, usually on waking and again approximately six hours later, with an optional third dose if symptoms recurred or additional visual comfort was needed. 

The group of patients (373 women and 393 men, with an average age of 55) were divided into three groups to receive one of three eye drop formulations. Each formulation had a fixed dose of diclofenac, and concentrations of pilocarpine were 1%, 2% and 3%.

The researchers assessed the improvement in how well patients could read the Jaeger chart without reading glasses one hour after the first administration of the drops, and they followed up with the patients for two years.

All distances

“Our most significant result showed rapid and sustained improvements in near vision for all three concentrations. One hour after having the first drops, patients had an average improvement of 3.45 Jaeger lines. The treatment also improved focus at all distances,” Dr Benozzi told the Congress on September 14.

About 99% of 148 patients in the 1% pilocarpine group reached optimal near vision and were able to read two or more extra lines, she said. “Approximately 83% of all patients maintained good functional near vision at 12 months. Importantly, no significant adverse events like increased intraocular pressure or retinal detachment were observed.”

The improvement in the patients’ vision was sustained for up to two years, with a median duration of 434 days.

“Our study revealed that optimal pilocarpine concentrations could be individualised depending on the baseline severity of presbyopia as assessed by the initial Jaeger scores. 

“Patients with less severe presbyopia responded best to 1% concentrations, while those with more advanced presbyopia required higher 2% or 3% concentrations to achieve significant visual improvement,” she said.

Further multi-centre tests required

ESCRS President-Elect, Professor Burkhard Dick, chair of the ophthalmology department at the University Eye Hospital Bochum, Germany, who was not involved in the research, said multi-centre studies were required to further test the results.

“While surgery for age-related near vision loss has advanced, some patients are not candidates. The single-centre retrospective study by Dr Benozzi suggests that eye drops containing pilocarpine and diclofenac may improve near vision for up to two years, but the limited design means the results may not apply to everyone. 

“Broader, long-term, multi-centre studies are needed to confirm safety and effectiveness before this treatment can be widely recommended.”