Glaucoma Awareness: Protecting Your Precious

Vision

Presented by:

Hamed B. Lari MD

02/19/2014

Anatomy of the Eye

Visual Pathway

www.neuroanthropology.net

Glaucoma• Glaucoma causes damage to your eye's optic

nerve and gets worse over time.

• Glaucoma is often associated with a buildup of pressure inside the eye. Glaucoma tends to be inherited and may not show up until later in life.

• If damage to the optic nerve from high eye pressure continues, glaucoma will cause permanent loss of vision.

Glaucoma

The increase in the eye pressure will damage the optic nerve

Optic Nerve Damage

Eye Pressure

Glaucoma is a Blinding Disease• Glaucoma is a leading causes of adult

blindness in the US. The national rate is 1.9% for the U.S. population age 40 and older.

• If damage to the optic nerve from high eye pressure continues, glaucoma will cause permanent loss of vision.

• Without treatment, glaucoma can cause total permanent blindness within a few years.

Glaucoma Vision Loss

Who is at Risk?

• People over the age of 50• People with hypertension• People with a family history of glaucoma• Very near-sighted people• African-Americans• People on corticosteroids• Diabetics• People who have had a serious eye injury

What are the Symptoms of Glaucoma?

• Seeing halos around lights• Vision loss• Redness in the eye• Eye that looks hazy • Nausea or vomiting• Pain in the eye• Narrowing of vision (tunnel vision)

How is Glaucoma Diagnosed?

• Eye exam• Eye pressure• Side vision test• Optic nerve test• Glaucoma tests are painless and take very

little time.

Treatment

• Medications: eye drops To reduce the formation of fluid in the front

of the eye or increase its outflow.

• Laser Surgery: trabeculoplasty, iridotomy, & cyclophotocoagulation

• Microsurgery: Trabeculectomy, Glaucoma drainage implants (GDI), etc.

Trabeculectomy

Glaucoma Drainage Implants

Summary

• Glaucoma is a very common cause of blindness and visual impairment worldwide

• Clinical examination with visual field testing and optic nerve imaging can identify patients with optic nerve damage

• Early treatment, before development of advanced optic nerve damage is crucial

• Glaucoma cannot be prevented, but if it is diagnosed and treated early, the disease can be controlled

Questions?

References • American Academy of Ophthalmology; www.aao.org.• The Eye Diseases Prevalence Research Group, Arch

Ophthalmol. 2004; Prevent Blindness America; • National Institutes of Health; Quigley and Vitale, Invest

Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 1997;• http://www.webmd.com/eye-health/glaucoma-eyes• The Salisbury Eye Evaluation Study, Arch Ophthalmol 2000; • Center for Disease Control and Prevention/National Center for

Health Statistics, 2010 & 1995; (8)• NEI, Report of the Glaucoma Panel, Fall 1998