Glaucoma
Andrea Dahl and Michael Lam
How it affects the eye:
Damages optic nerve:
- Normally, clear fluid flows continuously in and out of the anterior chamber and nourishes nearby tissues
- In Glaucoma, the fluid passes too slowly through the drain causing pressure inside the eye to rise
- This can cause loss of vision
Symptoms
At first: Glaucoma has no symptoms or pain
Left untreated: loss of peripheral vision, then tunnel-vision develops. Over time, straight-ahead vision may decrease until no vision remains
There is currently no way of preventing or curing Glaucoma
Treatments
- Early stages: Eye drops relieve pressure
- Laser trabeculoplasty: A high-intensity beam of light is aimed through the lens and reflected onto the meshwork inside your eye. Makes several evenly spaced burns that stretch the drainage holes in the meshwork. This allows the fluid to drain better
- Conventional surgery makes a new opening for the fluid to leave the eye
Research
Researchers have discovered genes that could help explain how glaucoma damages the eye.
Studies supported to learn more about who is likely to get glaucoma, when to treat people who have increased eye pressure, and which treatment to use first.