It seems that blindness from glaucoma starts with an injury in the brain, not the eye. A team of researches, headed by David Calkins, director of research at Vanderbilt University’s Eye Institute, made the discovery after injecting glaucoma-afflicted rodents with a special fluorescent dye that illuminated sections of the middle of the brain where the [...]
Archive for the ‘Glaucoma news’ category
Glaucoma – a chronic and incurable eye disease – is the second leading cause of blindness in the world
November 21st, 2009Glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness in the world. As the pressure inside the eye builds up, the optic nerve is affected, which leads to its slow degradation and ultimately, its death. There are no early symptoms, no pain or frequently, even discomfort, while the sufferer’s vision gradually declines. Glaucoma is a chronic [...]
Aging population contributes to rising glaucoma burden around the world
November 21st, 2009Reducing the occurrence of glaucoma poses a challenge around the world, with nearly 8 million people bilaterally blind from the disease. That number is estimated to increase over the next 10 years as the population ages. “The actual prevalence of the disease is rising not because the incidence is rising, but because the population at [...]