Glaucoma Part II
| Glaucoma Part II | |
| Date: January 14, 2007 | |
New Technology in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Glaucoma Individuals at Risk of Developing Glaucoma Can Now Be Identified Las Vegas, November 2006 - Details about a method of calculating who might be most at risk of developing the potentially eye-damaging disease of glaucoma were recently presented. Researchers from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis said identifying high-risk individual and then treating them with medications that lower internal (intraocular pressure) eye pressure helped prevent or reduce effects of glaucoma, which can damage the eye's optic nerve. The model predicting glaucoma risk was developed from data generated from two major clinical trials, said Washington University Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences head Michael A. Kass, M.D. "We wanted to learn whether preventative treatment could reduce the incidence of glaucoma, and we also wanted to learn whether we could determine what risk factors might help us predict which patients will go on to develop glaucoma," Kass said. The model assessing glaucoma risk is based on five factors that include age, intraocular pressure, appearance of the optic nerve (cup/disc ratio), thickness of the eye's clear front surface (cornea), and results from computerized visual field tests. The results indicated that with these five factors in mind, high risk patients could begin treatment much earlier and avoid significant vision loss. It is currently believed that over 50% of glaucoma patients are undiagnosed. Doctors utilizing this protocol on a regular basis will diagnose more glaucoma and be able to offer high risk patients the option of early treatment. Experimental Drug Slows Eye Damage Associated With Glaucoma Irvine, Calif., November 2006 - Recent news and trade reports indicate that Allergan's experimental drug for glaucoma, memantine, has demonstrated effectiveness in stopping or slowing optic nerve damage and accompanying vision loss associated with the common eye disease. News reports say memantine currently is in late-stage clinical trials, and could be available pending necessary U.S. Food and Drug Administration approvals as soon as early 2008. "In the battle against glaucoma, we are supporting the world's largest phase three clinical trial to investigate the potential use of a highly promising oral compound called memantine for the protection against the damage caused by increased pressure on the back of the eye". "In conjunction with current topical agents, memantine would be the first and only oral medication that directly protects the optic nerve in the treatment of glaucoma." Allergan currently markets memantine under the trade name of Namenda, FDA-approved for treatment of neurological damage associated with moderate to severe Alzheimer's disease. Archives of Ophthalmology in February 2006 reported results of an experiment using monkeys that demonstrated memantine reduced atrophy or shrinkage of visual nerve cells (neurons) when glaucoma was present. Boston Researchers Suggest New Treatment Targets for Glaucoma Boston, January 2007 - New understanding about how glaucoma causes blindness has led researchers at Children's Hospital Boston and the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary to suggest treatments aimed at certain targets, such as a type of inflammatory molecule known as tumor necrosis factor-alpha or TNF-alpha. Researchers say they have found an association between elevated inner eye pressure (intraocular pressure) often caused by glaucoma and an increase in TNF-alpha, which sets off an immune response in the eye that damages cells within the optic nerve. A healthy optic nerve is crucial for good vision, because it transmits visual signals from the eye to the brain for interpretation. "In the clinic, lowering intraocular pressure is a reliable treatment for glaucoma, but sometimes it is hard to lower the pressure even after eyedrop treatment or surgery," researcher Toru Nakazawa, who now is at Japan's Tohoku University, said in a new release. "Here, we show that blocking TNF-alpha function may have a benefit as a neuroprotective treatment." Results of the Boston study were published in the Dec. 6, 2006 online edition of Journal of Neuroscience. Clearly strides are being made to improve diagnostic ability as well as treatment in the fight against glaucoma. Having you eyes checked on a yearly basis can increase your chances of being diagnosed early and avoid vision loss. If you have a family history you carry the single biggest risk factor and should pursue annual eye exams religiously. |
|