Initial signs of glaucoma begin in brain--study
The study states that the indications of the disease, which are often hard to detect, can be studied by investigating the neuronal activity behind the brain where all sensory information about senses like sound, heat, cold, pain, and pressure originate.
For the study, a special fluoresceine was injected in rodents suffering from high pressure glaucoma, to light up specific parts of the mid brain to facilitate investigation.
Findings of the study
The study, led by David Calkins, associate professor of Ophthalmology at VEI and a member of the neuroscience program, claims that glaucoma is just like any other central nervous system dysfunction.
It can be detected at its initial stage by focusing on the middle part of the brain where the optic nerves make their foremost connectivity.
The National Eye Institute has projected that by 2020, 80 million people worldwide would suffer from glaucoma.
In the early patients of the disease, the brain and the optic nerve connectivity died first, leading to communication loss in the eye’s optic nerves, stated the researchers.
"If you followed the disease long enough, eventually the optic nerve, then the retina, show signs of degeneration," said Calkins. "So the degeneration works in reverse order. It starts in the brain and works its way back to the retina so that in the very latest stages of the disease, the earliest structures, the ones nearest the eye, are the last to go.”
Steps towards preventing the occurrence of glaucoma
The team of researchers is trying to find drugs that can help improve the connectivity between the optic nerve and the mid brain in order to prevent the disease from occurring.
Both synthetic compounds and the nerve growth factors are being studied by the team.
"It's a very interesting study. It does have potentially profound implications for treatment, and even diagnosis, of glaucoma, if it holds true for humans", said researcher Darrell WuDunn, who is the Residency Program Director of the Department of Ophthalmology at Indiana University School of Medicine.
The report has been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Glaucoma symptoms hard to detect
Glaucoma is a disease of the eye, wherein the injury erupts in the peripheral visual field and moves towards the center, often leading the patient to complete blindness. The risk of blindness increases sevenfold in the patients above 55.
The degeneration in the disease is generally difficult to detect, making it a tough disease to deal with.
The National Eye Institute has projected that by 2020, 80 million people worldwide would suffer from glaucoma.
For the study, a special fluoresceine was injected in rodents suffering from high pressure glaucoma, to light up specific parts of the mid brain to facilitate investigation.
Findings of the study
The study, led by David Calkins, associate professor of Ophthalmology at VEI and a member of the neuroscience program, claims that glaucoma is just like any other central nervous system dysfunction.
It can be detected at its initial stage by focusing on the middle part of the brain where the optic nerves make their foremost connectivity.
The National Eye Institute has projected that by 2020, 80 million people worldwide would suffer from glaucoma.
In the early patients of the disease, the brain and the optic nerve connectivity died first, leading to communication loss in the eye’s optic nerves, stated the researchers.
"If you followed the disease long enough, eventually the optic nerve, then the retina, show signs of degeneration," said Calkins. "So the degeneration works in reverse order. It starts in the brain and works its way back to the retina so that in the very latest stages of the disease, the earliest structures, the ones nearest the eye, are the last to go.”
Steps towards preventing the occurrence of glaucoma
The team of researchers is trying to find drugs that can help improve the connectivity between the optic nerve and the mid brain in order to prevent the disease from occurring.
Both synthetic compounds and the nerve growth factors are being studied by the team.
"It's a very interesting study. It does have potentially profound implications for treatment, and even diagnosis, of glaucoma, if it holds true for humans", said researcher Darrell WuDunn, who is the Residency Program Director of the Department of Ophthalmology at Indiana University School of Medicine.
The report has been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Glaucoma symptoms hard to detect
Glaucoma is a disease of the eye, wherein the injury erupts in the peripheral visual field and moves towards the center, often leading the patient to complete blindness. The risk of blindness increases sevenfold in the patients above 55.
The degeneration in the disease is generally difficult to detect, making it a tough disease to deal with.
The National Eye Institute has projected that by 2020, 80 million people worldwide would suffer from glaucoma.