| History
of Glaucoma Glaucoma
was recognized as early as 400 BC. In the 1800's, glaucoma
was recognized as a distinct disorder, although it frequently
coexisted with cataracts.
Who
Gets Glaucoma?
Glaucoma accounts for blindness
in more than 5 million persons. It is the leading cause
of blindness in African Americans and the second leading
cause overall in the United States. Glaucoma typically occurs
after 40 years of age, although there are several types
of glaucoma that present at an earlier age.
Who
is at Risk?
Risk factors or associations
for development and progression of glaucoma include advancing
age, family history, African American race, nearsightedness,
hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol, smoking, and thyroid
disease.
What
is Glaucoma?
 In
glaucoma, the optic nerve - the nerve that gives you your
vision, which comes off the brain - becomes compressed.
This is how you lose your vision.
What
Causes Glaucoma?
Glaucoma is a multifactorial
disease. Current theories include increased pressure within
the eye, decreased blood flow to the eye, and genetics.
What
are the Symptoms of Glaucoma?
Glaucoma usually presents without
any symptoms and thus is called the "sneak thief of
sight." At first you may lose your side vision, which
may be unnoticeable to you. Late in the disease, after much
of the optic nerve has been destroyed, you may lose your
central vision, which then becomes noticeable. There are
a few types of glaucoma that may have symptoms; such as
glaucoma in newborns that may present with eyes that appear
large and have a white hue to the front surface of the eye
or sudden attack glaucoma where the eye becomes very painful
and red. These, however, are a minority of cases in the
United States. The majority of glaucoma is asymptomatic.
How
Will My Doctor Determine if I Have Glaucoma?
 In
addition to a careful optic nerve examination and eye pressure
measurement, there is a test called a visual field which
can be done to determine how much of your vision has been
lost. This is why it is so important to catch the disease
early.
Will
Glaucoma Cause Blindness?
Many people are devastated when
they are told that they have glaucoma. It does not necessarily
mean you will go blind. It is extremely important to note
that once glaucoma is diagnosed, there are a number of interventions
that may be sought to prevent further vision loss or slow
down the vision loss to a rate that will not affect your
daily life. One of the most important factors in determining
your ultimate outcome is how early the diagnosis is made.
Vision that has already been lost from glaucoma may not
be restored currently. However, further vision loss may
be preventable.
How
Does Glaucoma Develop?
In order to understand how glaucoma
works, you need to think like a plumber.
If you visualize your kitchen
sink, there is a faucet and a drain. In the eye, the faucet
is always on (by the way, this is not the tearing system,
this is a separate plumbing system inside the eye). Moreover,
in our analogy, the drain is always open.
Different
Types of Glaucoma
POAG
(primary open-angle glaucoma)
Pigment dispersion glaucoma
Pseudoexfoliation
glaucoma
Narrow angle / closed
glaucoma
Angle closure (sudden
attack glaucoma)
Video
Presentations
Glaucoma
Related Links:
Glaucoma Research Foundation
www.glaucoma.org
The Glaucoma Foundation
www.glaucomafoundation.org
Medem
www.medem.com/medlb/articleslb.cfm?sub_cat=2012
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