topical atropine in the control of myopia

atropine has been used for more than a century by small groups of researchers to arrest myopia progression, and lately has gathered compelling evidence of its protective effect from well-designed clinical studies, mainly performed during the last two decades. however its exact mechanism of action is an unsettled issue. experimental finding has shown that it is not related to accommodation, as it was thought for decades. we reviewed the published literature on the topic, and found that a significant amount of evidence supports its safety and efficacy both in 1% and lower concentrations (as low as 0,01%).