Archive by category "Glaucoma"

Genes and Vision: Understanding Glaucoma Risk

A glaucoma polygenic risk score (PRS) is increasingly recognized as an important summary of glaucoma, reflecting the influence of genetic variants on the development of the disease. A January 13 webinar featuring two presenters, Dr. Louis Pasquale and Hillary Golden, delved into the polygenic risk score and how it can affect diagnosis and treatment. Physician and scientist Dr. Pasquale is Professor of Ophthalmology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. His research focuses on several areas, including the genetic architecture of primary open-angle glaucoma, which is primarily a non- Mendelian disease caused by many variants. Dr. Pasquale…

Living With Glaucoma

At the young age of 23, Taylor Desjardins has already made a name for herself as an award-winning screenwriter and director with a passion for cinematography and music. Her film “Suspended Frequencies,” which she wrote and directed, was the Bronze Winner of a Telly Award last year and a finalist at several film festivals. A documentary, “Tunnel Vision,” was named Best Student Documentary by Bridgewater State University, her alma mater, in 2023. “I am driven by passion and a love for telling compelling stories that bring an audience together,” she has explained. Taylor has her own compelling story. “I was…

January is Glaucoma Awareness Month

Glaucoma is a leading cause of vision loss and blindness in the United States, but half of people with glaucoma don’t know they have it because glaucoma has no early symptoms. For this reason, glaucoma is sometimes called “the sneak thief of sight.” One way to check for it is to get a comprehensive dilated eye exam. There’s no cure for glaucoma, but starting treatment as early as possible can help stop vision loss.

Anyone can get glaucoma, but some people are at higher risk, including people who:

Are over age 60
Are Black/African American and over age 40
Are Asian American

Glaucoma: More Prevalent Than Expected

by Janet Weinstein — A study published recently in JAMA Ophthalmology, “Prevalence of Glaucoma Among US Adults in 2022,” provides higher-than-expected estimates of the incidence of glaucoma as well as how many of those with the condition experience vision loss. The new data indicate that approximately 4.22 million people in the U.S. have glaucoma (1.62 percent of the population), with 1.49 million of these individuals having “vision-affecting glaucoma.” The incidence increases with age, with 2.56 percent ages 40 and older having glaucoma and 0.9 percent having vision affected by the condition. Results also found “substantial demographic and geographic subgroups, U.S. states,…

How Glaucoma Develops

January is Glaucoma Awareness Month

Glaucoma is a leading cause of vision loss and blindness in the United States. But half of people with glaucoma don’t know they have it.

Glaucoma has no early symptoms. The only way to check for it is to get a comprehensive dilated eye exam. There’s no cure for glaucoma, but starting treatment as early as possible can help stop vision loss.

Anyone can get glaucoma, but some people are at higher risk, including people who:

Are over age 60
Are Black/African American and over age 40
Are Asian American