1 in 40 adults older than 40 years has glaucoma

One in 40 adults older than 40 years has glaucoma with loss of visual function.

Adults have one of the two forms of glaucoma:

- open-angle glaucoma

- angle-closure glaucoma

Diagnosis

At least half of glaucoma cases are undiagnosed. Glaucoma is mostly asymptomatic until late in the disease when visual problems arise. Vision loss from glaucoma cannot be recovered.

Treatment

Glaucoma is treated with daily eye-drop drugs, but adherence to treatment is often unsatisfactory.

Similarities to the pathogenesis of common CNS diseases mean that common neuroprotective strategies might exist. Successful gene therapy has been used for some eye diseases and may be possible for the treatment of glaucoma in the future.

References:

Glaucoma. The Lancet, Volume 377, Issue 9774, Pages 1367 - 1377, 16 April 2011.

Bono from U2 reveals he always wears sunglasses because of glaucoma for 20 years - Telegraph http://buff.ly/1wdtlWi

Image source: Eyelashes, Wikipedia, Steve Jurvetson, Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.