Glasses may soon be obsolete — after scientists revealed that a simple course of eye drops can restore clear near vision.

Hundreds of millions of people worldwide suffer from presbyopia — a condition where the eyes struggle to focus on objects and text up close.

The problem is usually treated with reading glasses or surgery, but many find spectacles inconvenient and surgery is not always an option.

A study of 766 people in Argentina presented at the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons (ESCRS) in Copenhagen over the weekend showed that a majority could read extra lines on eye test charts after using the drops - with a sustained improvement lasting two years.

Now experts say drops containing pilocarpine - a drug that constricts the pupils and contracts the muscle that co

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