• Glaucoma Can Lead to Optic Nerve Damage

    Date: 2010.06.25 | Category: Uncategorized | Tags:

    Glaucoma is a disease of the eye caused by damage to the optic nerve, usually due to high pressure inside the eye. When left untreated, this increase in pressure can gradually cause loss of vision, starting with small, imperceptible blind spots which progress to tunnel vision and then blindness. It is the leading cause of preventable blindness in the United States. The risk of glaucoma increases dramatically with age, however it can affect any age group.

    To understand what glaucoma is, it is useful to understand a bit about the structure of the eye. The colored part of the eye is the iris which controls the amount of light entering the eye, opening and closing the pupil. The iris, cornea and lens are immersed in a fluid called aqueous humor. This fluid is constantly filtered and rejuvenated in the eye with the discharge occurring via small drainage tubes known as the trabecular meshwork.

    Glaucoma occurs when aqueous humor is not adequately drained, which allows pressure to build. The increased pressure impacts the optic nerve and slowly destroys it. This results in dead spots as information is not correctly sent by the nerve to the brain.

    Open-angle glaucoma progresses slowly and accounts for more than 90% of cases. It’s called “open angle” because the angle between the iris and the cornea is open so that there is some drainage of aqueous humor. In narrow angle glaucoma the opening is narrow which inhibits proper drainage, or can degenerate to the point where it is closed.

    Congenital glaucoma occurs in infants and is the result of incomplete development of the drainage channels of the eye in the developing fetus. Surgery can correct the defects or they can be treated with a combination of medicine and surgery.

    There is a rare form of open-angle glaucoma, normal tension glaucoma, which is different in that people with this form of glaucoma have optic nerve damage not caused by excess pressure in the eye. Those at higher risk for this form of glaucoma are people with a familial history of normal tension glaucoma, and people with a history of systemic heart disease such as arrhythmia.

    Glaucoma can also result from injuries, infections and ocular tumors. It is also more prevalent in people with cataracts and diabetes. The most common cause of vision loss in all forms of glaucoma is optic nerve damage. There are many causes of glaucoma including trauma to the eye, or age related tissue damage that pushes the iris forward blocking normal drainage. It is also likely that many forms and types of glaucoma are based on inherited traits. Researchers have identified defective genes that cause glaucoma.

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    Author: Richard Pagano
    Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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