Glaucoma treatment. A review of people with primary open-angle glaucoma and ocular hypertension concluded that medical IOP lowering treatment slowed down the progression of visual field loss. Vascular flow and neurodegenerative theories of glaucomatous optic neuropathy have prompted studies on various neuroprotective therapeutic strategies, including nutritional compounds, some of which may be regarded by clinicians as safe for use now, while others are on trial. Intraocular pressure can be lowered with medication, usually eye drops. Several classes of medications are used to treat glaucoma, with several medications in each class. Each of these medicines may have local and systemic side effects.
Glaucoma 2 million people in the United States. It occurs more commonly among older people. Closed-angle glaucoma is more common in women. Glaucoma has been called the "silent thief of sight" because the loss of vision usually occurs slowly over a long period of time. Worldwide, glaucoma is the second-leading cause of blindness after cataracts. The word "glaucoma" is from Ancient Greek "glaukos" which means blue, green, or gray. In English, the word was used as early as 1587 but did not become commonly used until after 1850, when the development of the ophthalmoscope allowed people to see the optic nerve