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Scientists have discovered a new method for diagnosing glaucoma
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
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A new study of scientists suggests that certain changes in the blood vessels of the retina can be an early symptom that a person is at an increased risk of developing glaucoma, an eye disease that slowly takes peripheral vision from people.
Despite all the achievements of modern medicine, glaucoma is still one of the most pressing problems, to the solution of which the key has not been found. Ophthalmologists are alarmed by the significant increase in the number of people with glaucoma.
Studies of the Australian ophthalmologists "Blue Mountains Eye Study" show that those patients who had a retinal pathology discovered were at increased risk of developing glaucoma.
If the findings are confirmed in the future, then this discovery can be the basis for developing new methods for detecting glaucoma and treating the most vulnerable patients with vision problems that lead to complete loss of glaucoma.
Open angle glaucoma is the most common form of glaucoma. Experts state that over the past ten years the number of people suffering from open-angle glaucoma has increased by 22%, while the age of people suffering from this disease has significantly decreased.
Only in the United States open-angle form of glaucoma affects more than 2.7 million people over forty.
According to the lead author of the study, Professor Paul Mitchell, abnormal narrowing of the retinal blood vessels is an important factor that can help early diagnosis of this disease.
For ten years, scientists monitored 2,500 volunteers. They found that in those patients who had retinal arteries narrow, the risk of developing glaucoma was about four times higher than those in those whose retina artery size was wider.
At the time of the study, none of the participants were diagnosed with open-angle glaucoma, but during the entire observation period it developed in some patients. Compared to those who had no vision problems, these patients had higher blood pressure or high intraocular pressure and more often the disease affected women than men.
The results of the study were adjusted for age, family history of glaucoma, smoking, diabetes, hypertension and other relevant risk factors.
"Our results show that computer imaging, designed to detect narrowing of the retina arteries, can effectively identify those people who are most at risk of developing open-angle glaucoma," says Dr. Mitchell. - This should take into account the blood, intraocular pressure and other factors that can contribute to a change in the caliber of blood vessels. Early diagnosis will allow ophthalmologists to identify the disease or predisposition to it before the optic nerve damage occurs, which increases the person's chances of successfully eliminating the problem. "
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