Glaucoma

The largest-ever global genetic study of glaucoma has uncovered more genes associated with the disease, including never-before-identified genes that could be targeted to prevent the optic nerve damage that leads to irreversible blindness.

We've recently heard about several experimental devices that monitor the pressure in glaucoma patients' eyes. The miLens contact lens – which is the latest to cross our radar – has just completed clinical trials, and could be available by next year.

The high eye pressure seen in glaucoma slowly leads to blindness. For some, treatment with eye drops doesn’t work. Researchers have used gene therapy to develop a promising new way of treating the high eye pressure associated with glaucoma.

If people with glaucoma don't stay on top of their condition, blindness may result. An experimental new contact lens is designed to help, by both monitoring glaucoma symptoms and automatically releasing medication as needed.

A wearable sensor for eye pressure sensing, a plastic scanner and new treatment solution for stab wounds have triumphed as global winners of the 2021 James Dyson Award, impressing judges as clever concepts designed to solve real-world problems.

Glaucoma can cause vision loss that's currently irreversible. But now scientists have found that removing a membrane in the eye could help transplanted cells migrate into the optic nerve and repair the connections, potentially restoring lost vision.

Presently, glaucoma is treated via daily-administered eye drops, surgery, or implanted devices – none of which are guaranteed to be successful. In the future, however, it's possible that a twice-yearly injection could do the trick.

Using gene therapy, Harvard scientists have restored vision to mice suffering glaucoma by rewinding the aging process in their cells. The team says the research is a proof of concept for slowing the symptoms of aging with epigenetics.

Researchers in Australia are claiming an important breakthrough in glaucoma research, demonstrating how the degenerative condition can be treated using an innovative form of gene therapy that repairs damaged optic nerve cells.

Scientists in the UK have been putting an AI to the test for diagnosing glaucoma, with the results of the trial indicating it can pick up on progression of the disease 18 months earlier than current methods.

The Injectsense implant is designed to constantly monitor a glaucoma patient's intraocular pressure, transmitting readings to the cloud.

​Glaucoma occurs when a blockage causes aqueous humor fluid to accumulate within the eye faster than it can drain out. This increases intraocular pressure, which can in turn damage the optic nerve, causing blindness. A new implant, however, may be particularly effective at reducing that pressure.