Disease Focus

What Is Glaucoma?

Glaucoma is an ophthalmic condition associated with damage to the optic nerve resulting in vision loss. Typically, peripheral vision is gradually lost first. However, if not treated, glaucoma can lead to complete blindness.

Increased intraocular pressure (IOP), caused by an over accumulation of aqueous humor, is a known risk factor for glaucomatous damage. The aqueous humor is a fluid that is constantly being produced and drained from the eye. If too much fluid is produced or the drainage of fluid is slowed, pressure inside the eye will build up and cause optic nerve damage. It should be noted that some patients can suffer glaucomatous nerve damage with normal intraocular pressure.

Current Treatments for Glaucoma

Glaucoma can be treated pharmacologically with agents designed to decrease production of aqueous humor (e.g., beta-adrenergic receptor blockers, alpha-2 receptor agonists) or increase outflow of aqueous humor (e.g., prostaglandin analogs, cholinergics).

Surgical intervention can also be used to increase the drainage of aqueous humor from the eye. The goal of all these treatments is to decrease intraocular pressure and prevent further damage to the optic nerve.