Biological mechanisms of atropine in myopia control (Review).

Authors

Qin Zhu, Guanglong Zhou, Lingguo Wang, Xuejiao Li, Zhijuan Hua, Jie Yin, Jieying Zhang, Yuan Zhou, Xiaofan Zhang, Allison Wilde, Yingting Zhu, Liping Xue

Published in

Molecular medicine reports. Volume 34. Issue 4. Epub Aug 21, 2026.

Abstract

Myopia is now recognized as a progressive, potentially sight‑threatening disease rather than just a refractive error, with its prevalence rising rapidly worldwide due to its high occurrence, major vision losses and huge public health cost. The World Health Organization estimates that 2.6 billion individuals in the world were myopic in 2020 this figure is projected to increase to 3.364 billion by 2030. Although myopia may be better controlled in its early stages, it may not be completely reversed at this time. Of all of the methods for controlling myopia, atropine, a muscarinic receptor antagonist, remains an effective pharmacological option for slowing myopia progression in children. However, the mechanisms of action of atropine remain to be fully elucidated. This review provided a systematic review for myopia epidemiology, pathogenesis, the effects and side effects, as well as up‑to‑date possible mechanisms, in the hope of facilitating that researchers in this field elucidate its underlying mechanisms so that clinical ophthalmologists may be able to better control this disease.

PMID:
42627050
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 21 Aug 2026.

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