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How to beat glaucoma

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Published on Thursday, 20 September 2007 14:59

Written by Philippine Star

Life, they say, begins at 40. However, it is also at this age that certain ailments start to make its presence felt.

One of these ailments is glaucoma, a condition where loss of vision occurs because of an abnormally high pressure in the eye.

There is reason to worry about this ailment because glaucoma is the third leading cause of blindness in the world. In 2000, an estimated 60.8 million people worldwide were affected with glaucoma.

The Third Philippine National Survey of Blindness indicated that glaucoma is the leading cause of bilateral blindness (after cataract and error of refraction) and the leading cause of irreversible blindness in the country.

“The problem with glaucoma is that the symptoms do not manifest early enough and when the patient does consult a doctor, it is already in its later stages,” said Dr. Mario Aquino, honorary director of the International Eye Institute of St. Luke’s Medical Center.

“Early detection is still the key to controlling glaucoma,” he added.

Glaucoma is a disease of the major nerve of vision called the optic nerve. The optic nerve receives light from the retina and transmits impulses to the brain that we perceive as vision.

Glaucoma is characterized by a particular pattern of progressive damage to the optic nerve that generally begins with a subtle loss of side vision (peripheral vision). If it is not diagnosed and treated, it can progress to loss of central vision and blindness.

Glaucoma is usually, but not always, associated with elevated pressure in the eye or intraocular pressure. Generally, it is this elevated eye pressure that leads to damage of the eye (optic) nerve.

In some cases, glaucoma may occur in the presence of normal eye pressure. This form of glaucoma is believed to be caused by poor regulation of blood flow to the optic nerve.

This ailment is often called “the sneak thief of the night” because the intraocular pressure can build up and destroy sight without causing obvious symptoms.

Thus, awareness and early detection of glaucoma are extremely important because this disease can be successfully treated when diagnosed early.

While everyone is at risk for glaucoma, certain people are at a much higher risk and need to be checked more frequently by an ophthalmologist.

The major risk factors for glaucoma include age over 45 years, family history of glaucoma, diabetes, history of elevated intraocular pressure, nearsightedness, history of injury to the eye, use of steroid, and farsightedness.

“It is recommended that those at high risk of getting glaucoma undergo regular screening so that this can be detected early on,” said Aquino.

“An ophthalmologist can usually detect individuals who are at risk for glaucoma before nerve damage occurs,” he said.

The patient will have to undergo a series of tests to determine if he has glaucoma. While nerve damage and visual loss from glaucoma cannot usually be reversed, glaucoma is a disease that can generally be controlled.

“In advanced cases, however, surgery is highly recommended,” Aquino said. “With so many advances made in the instruments used for the surgery, the success rate for such surgery is relatively high.”

Glaucoma is just one of the topics that will be tackled during the first St. Luke’s Medical Center – International Eye Symposium slated on Sept. 29-30 at Edsa Shangri-La Hotel.

Five world-renowned experts in the field of ophthalmology have been invited to grace the two-day symposium, namely Dr. Carmen Puliafito, professor and chairman of the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute in Florida, USA; Dr. Ivan Goldberg, clinical associate professor at Sydney University in Australia; Dr. Uday Devgan, chief of ophthalmology, Olive View, UCLA Medical Center, Jules Stein Eye Institute in California; Dr. Roy Chuck, director of refractive surgery, Wilmer Eye Institute in Maryland; and Dr. Klaus Ditzen, clinical associate professor, Eye Surgery Center Weinheim in Germany.

“There have been so many developments in the field of ophthalmology so this will be a good opportunity for our colleagues to learn from the experts,” said Aquino, chairman of the symposium’s scientific committee.

source:Philippine Star
http://www.philstar.com/index.php?Science%20and%20Technology&p=49&type=2&sec=36&aid=2007091973