GLAUCOMA - SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
News: Explained | Why is glaucoma such a pain to
catch?
What's in the news?
● March 12-18 is World
Glaucoma Week, observed to increase awareness of
this serious threat to our vision.
World Glaucoma Week 2023:
● World
Glaucoma Week is a global initiative of the World Glaucoma Association (WGA) in
order to raise awareness on glaucoma.
● Theme: “The
world is bright, save your sight”.
Glaucoma:
● Glaucoma
is a set of conditions that damage the optic
nerve and cause peripheral vision loss, leading to blindness.
● It
is also called 'Silent Thief of Vision'.
● It
is a chronic and age-related eye
condition that has no cure.
● People
with glaucoma go blind gradually, and then suddenly.
● It
is a cause of irreversible sight loss in adults that needs to be taken
seriously, and is difficult to identify in the community.
Vulnerablity:
● Glaucoma
is one of the top five causes of
blindness in India.
● Vision
can’t be restored once it is lost in this way because the death of the retinal ganglion cells, and the loss of their axons to
the optic nerve, are permanent.
Causes:
● Glaucoma
has complex causes. Many genes are
involved, as are several environmental factors in its onset and
progression.
● The
prolonged use of steroid eye drops
without a prescription or beyond the prescribed time is also a common practice.
● Glaucoma
has also been linked to age,
especially among people older than 40 years.
● It
is also heritable.
Diagnosis:
● Glaucoma
has no clear, outward signs and requires
special tests to identify it.
● An
expert will examine the front of the eye and check eye pressure with a device
called a tonometer.
● To
understand the actual cause of glaucoma, they will perform a gonioscopy to view the angle at which
the fluid drains out of the eye and maintains the pressure inside.
● Patients
with glaucoma lose their peripheral vision, so a perimetry test is conducted to evaluate their field of vision and
establish the extent of loss.
● Imaging technologies like
optical coherence tonometry give micrometer-scale
images of the eye’s interior, which can help experts identify alterations and
damage, sometimes earlier than a perimetry test might spot a field defect.
Treatment:
● Once
a person is diagnosed with glaucoma, treatment strategies include eye-drops,
lasers, and surgery depending on the type and stage of glaucoma.