What effect do carbonic anhydrase inhibitors have on intraocular pressure?

Carbonic anhydrase inhibitors are medications primarily used in the management of glaucoma, particularly by working to decrease the production of aqueous humor. Aqueous humor is the fluid in the eye that maintains intraocular pressure and provides nutrients to the eye's avascular structures.

Carbonic anhydrase is an enzyme that plays a key role in the production of this fluid. By inhibiting this enzyme, carbonic anhydrase inhibitors reduce the formation of bicarbonate ions, leading to a decrease in the secretion of aqueous humor. With reduced aqueous humor production, the overall volume of fluid in the eye decreases, which subsequently lowers the intraocular pressure.

This mechanism is why carbonic anhydrase inhibitors are effective in treating conditions characterized by elevated intraocular pressure, such as glaucoma. Therefore, the correct understanding is that these inhibitors decrease the production of aqueous humor, resulting in lowered intraocular pressure and beneficial effects for patients at risk of vision loss due to these conditions.