Glaucoma: what every patient should know. Part 2. Factors increasing the risk for angle closure glaucoma. Will you go blind? Can glaucoma be cured? How can you help your family avoid glaucoma damage?

The first part of the article describes various factors increasing the risk for angle closure glaucoma, such as older age, female sex, being Asian, having blood relatives with glaucoma, having smaller eyes (far-sightedness) and individual features of the eye. It emphasizes that angle closure glaucoma is more a disease of higher than normal eye pressure than is open angle glaucoma. The author explicates in comprehensible anatomic details the process, mechanism and first means of treatment of angle closure, specifics of hyperopic eyes, the nature of pupil block. In the next part of the article the author answers the most pressing question for all glaucoma patients: will I be blind? He explains that though glaucoma presents a real threat to the vision of anyone who develops it, if a person continues to follow the standard care instructions, there is a good chance that he will preserve much of his sight until the end of his life. At the same time the author emphasizes the irreversibility of the vision loss and the importance of adhering with the treatment program, describes several characteristic signs and symptoms of glaucoma, and gives a brief account of the anatomical reasons behind them. Vision loss statistics is also presented. The next section forms of definitive treatment for glaucoma are discussed. Today restoring the lost vision still remains a future hope, however, present treatments can slow the process so much that no meaningful loss might occur in the person’s lifetime. Successful glaucoma surgery can lower eye pressure to a safe level, but it is important to keep having doctor’s exams regularly even when successful surgery has been done. The other kind of successful treatment for most persons with glaucoma is to take daily eye drops indefinitely. Several hypothetic ways of prolonging the effect of glaucoma medicine are discussed, such as long-lasting drugs and virus particles carriers. Current neuroprotection therapy research and the initial steps of nerve cell replacement are also mentioned. The last part of the article gives an account of genetic background of glaucoma and present research of genetic risk factors, and underlines the importance of intrafamilial information sharing and regular glaucoma check-ups.

glaucoma, angle closure glaucoma, risk factors, intraocular pressure, follow-up examination, глаукома, закрытоугольная глаукома, факторы риска, внутриглазное давление, динамическое наблюдение