Glaucoma

The drug development pipeline is bursting with new pharmaceutical products that may one day be useful in glaucoma therapy.

Circumferential viscodilation and tensioning of Schlemm's canal is a safe and effective surgical procedure for reducing intraocular pressure in adult patients with open-angle glaucoma.

A new pressure-to-cornea index (PCI) has been created in an attempt to integrate intraocular pressure (IOP) and central corneal thickness (CCT) into a unified risk factor.

The glaucoma-specific health-related quality of life questionnaire, Glau-Qol, demonstrates good correlations with disease progression in patients with glaucoma and ocular hypertension.

By 2010, glaucoma will affect 60 million people worldwide and cause blindness in more than 8 million.1 Despite the availability of effective treatments that delay or halt progression of the disease, an unacceptable number of people with glaucoma remain undiagnosed and untreated. Strategies for achieving earlier and more accurate diagnosis of glaucoma are therefore urgently needed to combat the rising burden of this disease in an ageing European population.

Results of an international survey have found that the majority of people aged over 40 years of age do not attend eye examinations.

Lower systolic perfusion pressure, lower systolic blood pressure and cardiovascular disease history are all predictors of glaucoma.

In patients with advanced visual field loss undergoing trabeculectomy with mitomycin C, there is a risk of severe loss of central vision.

In patients with open-angle glaucoma (OAG), the increase in intraocular pressure (IOP) caused by pharmacological pupillary dilation is related to the likelihood of future progression of glaucoma.

A gap analysis approach may be preferable to Kaplan-Meier survival curves for analysing patient persistence with prescribed medications.

The Visual Impairment Instrument (IVI) and the Glaucoma Symptom Scale (GSS) are suboptimal scales for assessing patients with glaucoma but relatively good vision.

Central corneal thickness (CCT) measurements should be included as part of a complete ocular examination, particularly in patients at risk of developing primary open angle glaucoma (POAG), according to a study conducted by the American Academy of Ophthalmology and published in the journal Ophthalmology.

Heidelberg Engineering premiered its new perimeter technology at this year's World Glaucoma Congress in Singapore.

The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare in Japan has approved Alcon's treatment for glaucoma and ocular hypertension, TRAVATANZ 0.004%.

The World Glaucoma Association has announced consensus findings that further determine the role of intraocular pressure (IOP) in glaucoma.

The Ex-PRESS implant appears to be as effective as trabeculectomy, furthermore it reduces postoperative compliance issues and seems to be safer, according to a paper presented at this year's World Glaucoma Congress held in Singapore.

Israeli firm IOPtima has completed development of its novel laser-based therapy for the treatment of glaucoma, OT134.

Drugs which slow the progress of Alzheimer's disease may also protect patients at risk of eye damage from glaucoma.

Madhu Nagar reviews some of the studies that support SLT's place as a first-line therapeutic in the treatment of glaucoma.

Ellex has launched a website that is to become the primary online resource for the company's selective laser trabeculoplasty (SLT) users.

The FDA has approved an import license application for the iCare tonometer, produced by Finnish firm Tiolat Oy.

A unique nanoparticle has been developed that could prove to be an effective drug delivery device for the treatment of glaucoma.

A 3-D computer automated threshold Amsler grid test is able to identify abnormalities characteristic of glaucoma in glaucoma suspects whose achromatic Humphrey visual field test was normal.

Community optometrists trained in glaucoma can provide satisfactory decisions regarding diagnosis and initiation of treatment.

High-tension open angle glaucoma (htOAG) is associated with high pulse pressure, increased carotid arterial stiffness and, in people treated for systemic hypertension, low diastolic perfusion pressure.