ArticleBritish journal of pharmacology2021
Insights into the mechanism by which atropine inhibits myopia: evidence against cholinergic hyperactivity and modulation of dopamine release.
Article in British journal of pharmacology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 25 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
25 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 49 citations in OpenAlex.
- Biological mechanisms of atropine in myopia control (Review).Molecular medicine reports · 2026Pooled it
- Network pharmacology and molecular dynamics simulations reveal shared mechanisms and myopia-specific targets of atropine in myopia and dry eye disease.Eye and vision (London, England) · 2026Article
- Light intensity and light/dark cycles regulate refractive development and myopia in mice through circadian rhythm-related genes.Graefe's archive for clinical and experimental ophthalmology = Albrecht von Graefes Archiv fur klinische und experimentelle Ophthalmologie · 2026Article
- Review
- Methylphenidate Inhibits the Development of Myopia by Altering Dopamine and Norepinephrine Reuptake.Investigative ophthalmology & visual science · 2025Article
- IMI-Interventions for Controlling Myopia Onset and Progression 2025.Investigative ophthalmology & visual science · 2025Review
- Orthokeratology, 0.04% Atropine, and 0.01% Atropine for Myopia Control: A Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA ophthalmology · 2025Article
- How Have Animal Models Increased our Understanding of Human Myopia?Investigative ophthalmology & visual science · 2025Review
- Topical review: Potential mechanisms of atropine for myopia control.Optometry and vision science : official publication of the American Academy of Optometry · 2025Review
- Myopia development: multifactorial interplay, molecular mechanisms and possible strategies.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Review
- Administration of Nicotine Can Inhibit Myopic Growth in Animal Models.Investigative ophthalmology & visual science · 2024Article
- Frequency-dependent effects of 0.05% atropine eyedrops on myopia progression and peripheral defocus: a prospective study.Eye and vision (London, England) · 2024Article
- Brimonidine as a possible treatment for myopia.BMC ophthalmology · 2024Article
- The influence of the environment and lifestyle on myopia.Journal of physiological anthropology · 2024Review
- Inhibitory effect of Zhujing Pill on myopia progression: Mechanistic insights based on metabonomics and network pharmacology.PloS one · 2024Article
- Retardation of myopia by atropine regimes.International journal of ophthalmology · 2024Review
- Integrative Transcriptome and Proteome Analyses Elucidate the Mechanism of Lens-Induced Myopia in Mice.Investigative ophthalmology & visual science · 2023Article
- Identification of high-risk patterns of myopia in Chinese students based on four major behavioral risk factors: a latent class analysis.BMC public health · 2023Article
- The Role of Retinal Dysfunction in Myopia Development.Cellular and molecular neurobiology · 2023Review
- Myopia control in Mendelian forms of myopia.Ophthalmic & physiological optics : the journal of the British College of Ophthalmic Opticians (Optometrists) · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
background and purposeThe ability of the muscarinic cholinergic antagonist atropine to inhibit myopia development in humans and animal models would suggest that cholinergic hyperactivity may underlie myopic growth. To test this, we investigated whether cholinergic agonists accelerate ocular growth rates in chickens. Furthermore, we investigated whether atropine alters ocular growth by downstream modulation of dopamine levels, a mechanism postulated to underlie its antimyopic effects. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH: Muscarinic (muscarine and pilocarpine), nicotinic (nicotine) and non-specific (oxotremorine and carbachol) cholinergic agonists were administered to chicks developing form-deprivation myopia (FDM) or chicks that were otherwise untreated. Vitreal levels of dopamine and its primary metabolite 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) were examined using mass spectrometry MS in form-deprived chicks treated with atropine (360, 15 or 0.15 nmol). Further, we investigated whether dopamine antagonists block atropine's antimyopic effects. KEY
resultsUnexpectedly, administration of each cholinergic agonist inhibited FDM but did not affect normal ocular development. Atropine only affected dopamine and DOPAC levels at its highest dose. Dopamine antagonists did not alter the antimyopia effects of atropine. CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS: Muscarinic, nicotinic and non-specific cholinergic agonists inhibited FDM development. This indicates that cholinergic hyperactivity does not underlie myopic growth and questions whether atropine inhibits myopia via cholinergic antagonism. This study also demonstrates that changes in retinal dopamine release are not required for atropine's antimyopic effects. Finally, nicotinic agonists may represent a novel and more targeted approach for the cholinergic control of myopia as they are unlikely to cause the anterior segment side effects associated with muscarinic treatment.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.