Alzheimer's drugs may help patients with glaucoma

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

Drugs which slow the progress of Alzheimer's disease may also protect patients at risk of eye damage from glaucoma, according to researchers at the University College London (UCL), UK.

By examining nerve cell damage in the retina, the researchers discovered that the protein beta-amyloid, which causes damaging plaques in the brains of Alzheimer's patients, is also responsible for harm to the optic nerve. Drugs that reverse the build-up of beta-amyloid plaques were then used on rats and it was found that they reduced the rate of nerve cell death in the eye.

The UCL team, led by Francesca Cordeiro, stressed that despite the strong similarities between the two conditions, people with glaucoma are not at higher risk of developing Alzheimer's and vice versa.

Related Videos
Disrupting the glaucoma treatment paradigm with novel femtosecond laser from ViaLase
2-year data in contralateral eye evaluation gives edge to iStent inject over Hydrus stent
Should endocyclophotocoagulation be considered part of MIGS? Mr Ratnarajan delves in
Investigating the effects of canaloplasty on corneal epithelium
POAG study hope to open a new avenue for therapies that are for helping treat patients that develop primary open angle glaucoma
Gonio-intervention robot-assisted glaucoma surgical procedure offers high precision
Related Content
© 2023 MJH Life Sciences

All rights reserved.