Glaucoma is a silent disease that can permanently impair vision and cause blindness when it's not treated. If you are age 60 years or older, have a family history of glaucoma, or are African American, you might be at high risk for the disease. Learn how you can protect yourself from and slow the progression of glaucoma. We will answer your questions, advise you abou

1. Glaucoma Awareness:
Protecting Your Precious
Vision
Presented by:
Hamed B. Lari MD
02/19/2014

2. Anatomy of the Eye

3. Visual Pathway
www.neuroanthropology.net

4. Glaucoma
• Glaucoma causes damage to your eye's optic
nerve and gets worse over time.
• Glaucoma is often associated with a buildup
of pressure inside the eye. Glaucoma tends
to be inherited and may not show up until
later in life.
• If damage to the optic nerve from high eye
pressure continues, glaucoma will cause
permanent loss of vision.

5. Glaucoma
The increase in the eye pressure
will damage the optic nerve

6. Optic Nerve Damage

7. Eye Pressure

8. Glaucoma is a Blinding Disease
• Glaucoma is a leading causes of adult
blindness in the US. The national rate is
1.9% for the U.S. population age 40 and
older.
• If damage to the optic nerve from high
eye pressure continues, glaucoma will
cause permanent loss of vision.
• Without treatment, glaucoma can cause
total permanent blindness within a few
years.

9. Glaucoma Vision Loss

10. Who is at Risk?
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People over the age of 50
People with hypertension
People with a family history of glaucoma
Very near-sighted people
African-Americans
People on corticosteroids
Diabetics
People who have had a serious eye injury

11. What are the Symptoms of
Glaucoma?
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Seeing halos around lights
Vision loss
Redness in the eye
Eye that looks hazy
Nausea or vomiting
Pain in the eye
Narrowing of vision (tunnel vision)

12. How is Glaucoma Diagnosed?
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Eye exam
Eye pressure
Side vision test
Optic nerve test
Glaucoma tests are painless and take very
little time.

15. Treatment
• Medications: eye drops

To reduce the formation of fluid in the front
of the eye or increase its outflow.
• Laser Surgery: trabeculoplasty,
iridotomy, & cyclophotocoagulation
• Microsurgery: Trabeculectomy,
Glaucoma drainage implants (GDI), etc.

16. Trabeculectomy

17. Glaucoma Drainage Implants

18. Summary
• Glaucoma is a very common cause of
blindness and visual impairment worldwide
• Clinical examination with visual field testing
and optic nerve imaging can identify patients
with optic nerve damage
• Early treatment, before development of
advanced optic nerve damage is crucial
• Glaucoma cannot be prevented, but if it is
diagnosed and treated early, the disease can
be controlled

19. Questions?

20. References
• American Academy of Ophthalmology; www.aao.org.
• The Eye Diseases Prevalence Research Group, Arch
Ophthalmol. 2004; Prevent Blindness America;
• National Institutes of Health; Quigley and Vitale, Invest
Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 1997;
• http://www.webmd.com/eye-health/glaucoma-eyes
• The Salisbury Eye Evaluation Study, Arch Ophthalmol 2000;
• Center for Disease Control and Prevention/National Center for
Health Statistics, 2010 & 1995; (8)
• NEI, Report of the Glaucoma Panel, Fall 1998