New field of glaucoma through effective inspection.

Abstract

  Glaucoma is a leading cause of blindness in Japan, with a prevalence as high as 5% in people over 40 years old. The prevalence of glaucoma increases with age, calling for particular attention to glaucoma in Japan, where society is aging quickly. Early detection and early treatment of glaucoma are important, because this disease has few subjective symptoms in patients, and retinal ganglion cell death is irreversible. The first-line, evidence based-treatment for glaucoma is medical control of intraocular pressure, but a poor outcome can make surgical treatment necessary. However, re-elevation of intraocular pressure can occur after surgery, due to scar formation. Furthermore, even with good control of intraocular pressure, there are cases with progression of visual field loss. Thus, glaucoma can be considered a multifactorial disease, and new methods for examination and treatment must be developed. In this article, we summarize the current state of glaucoma knowledge, with an emphasis on previously unseen aspects that have only recently been revealed.