Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that lead to damage of the optic nerve, which transmits visual information from the eye to the brain. Glaucoma may cause vision loss if left untreated. It has been called the "silent thief of sight" because the loss of vision usually occurs slowly over a long period of time. A major risk factor for glaucoma is increased pressure within the eye, known as intraocular pressure (IOP). It is associated with old age, a family history of glaucoma, and certain medical conditions or medications. The word glaucoma comes from the Ancient Greek word γλαυκóς, meaning 'gleaming, blue-green, gray'.
Intraocular pressure (IOP) is the fluid pressure inside the eye. Tonometry is the method eye care professionals use to determine this. IOP is an important aspect in the evaluation of patients at risk of glaucoma. Most tonometers are calibrated to measure pressure in millimeters of mercury (mmHg).
A red eye is an eye that appears red due to illness or injury. It is usually injection and prominence of the superficial blood vessels of the conjunctiva, which may be caused by disorders of these or adjacent structures. Conjunctivitis and subconjunctival hemorrhage are two of the less serious but more common causes.
Latanoprost, sold under the brand name Xalatan among others, is a medication used to treat increased pressure inside the eye. This includes ocular hypertension and open-angle glaucoma. Latanaprost is applied as eye drops to the eyes. Onset of effects is usually within four hours, and they last for up to a day.
Tonometry is the procedure eye care professionals perform to determine the intraocular pressure (IOP), the fluid pressure inside the eye. It is an important test in the evaluation of patients at risk from glaucoma. Most tonometers are calibrated to measure pressure in millimeters of mercury (mmHg), with the normal eye pressure range between 10 and 21 mmHg (13–28 hPa).
Ocular hypertension is the presence of elevated fluid pressure inside the eye, usually with no optic nerve damage or visual field loss.
Iridocorneal endothelial (ICE) syndromes are a spectrum of diseases characterized by slowly progressive abnormalities of the corneal endothelium and features including corneal edema, iris distortion, and secondary angle-closure glaucoma. ICE syndromes are predominantly unilateral and nonhereditary. The condition occurs in predominantly middle-aged women.Iridocorneal Endothelial (ICE) syndrome presents a unique set of challenges for both patients and ophthalmologists, and effective treatment of this group of rare ocular diseases requires a combination of diagnostic and therapeutic complexity. It's important to understand.
Glaucoma is a group of diseases affecting the optic nerve that results in vision loss and is frequently characterized by raised intraocular pressure (IOP). There are many glaucoma surgeries, and variations or combinations of those surgeries, that facilitate the escape of excess aqueous humor from the eye to lower intraocular pressure, and a few that lower IOP by decreasing the production of aqueous humor.
Polycoria is a pathological condition of the eye characterized by more than one pupillary opening in the iris. It may be congenital or result from a disease affecting the iris. It results in decreased function of the iris and pupil, affecting the physical eye and visualization.
Buphthalmos is enlargement of the eyeball and is most commonly seen in infants and young children. It is sometimes referred to as buphthalmia. It usually appears in the newborn period or the first 3 months of life. and in most cases indicates the presence of congenital (infantile) glaucoma, which is a disorder in which elevated pressures within the eye lead to structural eye damage and vision loss.
Myocilin, trabecular meshwork inducible glucocorticoid response (TIGR), also known as MYOC, is a protein which in humans is encoded by the MYOC gene. Mutations in MYOC are a major cause of glaucoma.
Intraocular hemorrhage is bleeding inside the eye. Bleeding can occur from any structure of the eye where there is vasculature or blood flow, including the anterior chamber, vitreous cavity, retina, choroid, suprachoroidal space, or optic disc.
Brimonidine/timolol, sold under the brand name Combigan among others, is a fixed-dose combination medication eye drop used for the treatment of glaucoma. It is a combination of brimonidine and timolol.
The Trabectome is a surgical device that can be used for ab interno trabeculotomy, a minimally invasive glaucoma surgery for the surgical management of adult, juvenile, and infantile glaucoma. The trabecular meshwork is a major site of resistance to aqueous humor outflow. As angle surgeries such as Trabectome follow the physiologic outflow pathway, the risk of complications is significantly lower than filtering surgeries. Hypotony with damage to the macula, can occur with pressures below 5 mmHg, for instance, after traditional trabeculectomy, because of the episcleral venous pressure limit. The Trabectome handpiece is inserted into the anterior chamber, its tip positioned into Schlemm's canal, and advanced to the left and to the right. Different from cautery, the tip generates plasma to molecularize the trabecular meshwork and remove it drag-free and with minimal thermal effect. Active irrigation of the trabectome surgery system helps to keep the anterior chamber formed during the procedure and precludes the need for ophthalmic viscoelastic devices. Viscoelastic devices tend to trap debris or gas bubbles and diminish visualization. The Trabectome decreases the intra-ocular pressure typically to a mid-teen range and reduces the patient's requirement to take glaucoma eye drops and glaucoma medications. The theoretically lowest pressure that can be achieved is equal to 8 mmHg in the episcleral veins. This procedure is performed through a small incision and can be done on an outpatient basis.
Ripasudil, a derivative of fasudil, is a rho kinase inhibitor drug used for the treatment of glaucoma and ocular hypertension.
Micro-invasive glaucoma surgery (MIGS) is the latest advance in surgical treatment for glaucoma, which aims to reduce intraocular pressure by either increasing outflow of aqueous humor or reducing its production. MIGS comprises a group of surgical procedures which share common features. MIGS procedures involve a minimally invasive approach, often with small cuts or micro-incisions through the cornea that causes the least amount of trauma to surrounding scleral and conjunctival tissues. The techniques minimize tissue scarring, allowing for the possibility of traditional glaucoma procedures such as trabeculectomy or glaucoma valve implantation to be performed in the future if needed.
Corneal opacification is a term used when the human cornea loses its transparency. The term corneal opacity is used particularly for the loss of transparency of cornea due to scarring. Transparency of the cornea is dependent on the uniform diameter and the regular spacing and arrangement of the collagen fibrils within the stroma. Alterations in the spacing of collagen fibrils in a variety of conditions including corneal edema, scars, and macular corneal dystrophy is clinically manifested as corneal opacity. The term corneal blindness is commonly used to describe blindness due to corneal opacity.
Secondary glaucoma is a collection of progressive optic nerve disorders associated with a rise in intraocular pressure (IOP) which results in the loss of vision. In clinical settings, it is defined as the occurrence of IOP above 21 mmHg requiring the prescription of IOP-managing drugs. It can be broadly divided into two subtypes: secondary open-angle glaucoma and secondary angle-closure glaucoma, depending on the closure of the angle between the cornea and the iris. Principal causes of secondary glaucoma include optic nerve trauma or damage, eye disease, surgery, neovascularization, tumours and use of steroid and sulfa drugs. Risk factors for secondary glaucoma include uveitis, cataract surgery and also intraocular tumours. Common treatments are designed according to the type and the underlying causative condition, in addition to the consequent rise in IOP. These include drug therapy, the use of miotics, surgery or laser therapy.
Posner–Schlossman syndrome (PSS) also known as glaucomatocyclitic crisis (GCC) is a rare acute ocular condition with unilateral attacks of mild granulomatous anterior uveitis and elevated intraocular pressure. It is sometimes considered as a secondary inflammatory glaucoma.
Ocular hypotony, or ocular hypotension, or shortly hypotony, is the medical condition in which intraocular pressure (IOP) of the eye is very low.
