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Glaucoma: Eyes
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Tuesday, 6 March, 2001, 00:02 GMT MS drug combats blindness Glaucoma is the most common cause of blindness A drug developed to treat multiple sclerosis may prove to be an effective treatment for one of the most common causes of blindness. A team from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel used the drug to block loss of eyesight in animals with a disease resembling the human condition glaucoma. The finding suggests that the drug, Copaxone, may ... stop, or at least slow down, the loss of eyesight in people who have a chronic form of the disease. The majority of patients with chronic glaucoma have increased pressure inside the eye due to defective drainage of the transparent fluid that bathes the eye and nourishes its outer cells. We know that eye pressure is an important factor in glaucoma, but not the only one so any other effective approach would be welcome Keith Barton, Moorfields Eye Hospital The increase in this intraocular pressure (IOP) damages the optic nerve, causing it to degenerate and often leading to loss of eyesight. For many years, the search for improved glaucoma therapies focused on correcting the eye's drainage system to reduce IOP.
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Glaucoma is a group of diseases characterized by optic nerve injury with resultant visual loss. While many individuals with glaucoma have an elevated eye pressure, it is a risk factor for glaucoma and not a part of the disease definition. Most individuals with mildly elevated eye pressure will not develop glaucoma and many individuals with glaucoma have never had a documented elevated pressure. Glaucoma is prevalent in all populations and can lead to blindness, if not diagnosed and treated in a timely manner. Glaucoma is more common in older individuals and in certain ethnic groups. Moreover, a positive family history of glaucoma is a significant risk factor for the disease.
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Glaucoma is an eye disease that may cause loss of vision. It occurs as a result of a buildup of fluid in the eyeball. The fluid nourishes your eye and keeps it healthy. After the fluid circulates, it empties through a drain in the front of your eye. In people with glaucoma, the drain in the eye is blocked and the fluid can't run out of the eyeball. Instead, the fluid builds up and causes increased pressure in the eye.
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Glaucoma is a family of more than 30 diseases that affects pressure within the eye, damaging the optic nerve. When pressure inside the eye increases, blind spots in peripheral areas of vision may occur. Of all conditions and diseases of the eye, glaucoma is one of the leading causes of blindness in the United States. Often called the "sneak thief" of sight, most forms of glaucoma do not produce symptoms until vision is already severely damaged. But if diagnosed early, the disease can be controlled and permanent vision loss can be prevented.
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Glaucoma is the result of disruptions of normal processes to maintain pressure within the eye tissue. The iris, cornea, and lens of the eye are bathed in a nutritive liquid called the aqueous humor, which is made by cells within the eye. Excess fluid is continually removed by a spongy meshwork of drainage canals. Glaucoma occurs if there is a build up of the aqueous humor due to poor drainage or overproduction. As the fluid builds up there is increased pressure on the retina at the back of the eye. This increases the pressure, reducing the blood supply to the nerves of the retina, causing the nerves to die.
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Glaucoma filtration surgery is the other form of surgery doctors use to treat glaucoma. With glaucoma filtration surgery, doctors manually create a new drainage system (trabeculectomy) to allow fluid to bypass the clogged or blocked canals and filter out of the eye. Glaucoma filtration surgery is generally performed in a hospital. People are usually able to return home the same day.
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