Blindness may Start in the Brain

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Glaucoma is a leading cause of blindness in the United States, but now researchers are one step closer to understanding the disease.

Glaucoma is a disease of the eye in which the retina and optic nerve are damaged. The damage begins in the peripheral visual field and progresses toward the center, causing complete blindness if it's not detected early.

The National Eye Institute predicts 80 million people will suffer from glaucoma in the next 10 years. People over the age of 55 with glaucoma are seven times more likely to develop vision loss as a result of the condition.

A recent study by researchers at Vanderbilt Eye Institute found the first sign of injury in glaucoma occurs in the brain. Traditional glaucoma therapies have focused on lowering ocular pressure, but this new study opens up the possibility for treatment focusing on the neuronal activity in the middle of the brain where the optic nerve forms its first connections.

"This is very exciting work that demonstrates that we must consider not just the eye, but also the brain, in our efforts to understand blinding diseases such as glaucoma," Paul Sternberg, M.D., chair of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences and director of Vanderbilt Eye Institute in Nashville, Tenn., was quoted as saying.

Source: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, March 1, 2010

If this story or any other Ivanhoe story has impacted your life or prompted you or someone you know to seek or change treatments, please let us know by contacting Melissa Medalie at mmedalie@ivanhoe.com