When a patient is diagnosed with glaucoma, their treatment will focus on slowing down or stopping the disease to prevent vision loss.
Glaucoma causes progressive damage to the optic nerve, the vital transport system which sends visual information from the eye to the brain.
“If glaucoma is left untreated or detected late it can lead to irreversible vision loss,” explains CERA Managing Director and world-renowned glaucoma researcher Professor Keith Martin.
“Currently, most glaucoma treatment focuses on reducing eye pressure to prevent damage to the optic nerve.
“But these treatments don’t work for about 15 per cent of patients and there is nothing we can do to repair the damage to the optic nerve once it has occurred – or to restore vision that has been lost.”
