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ISSUE
07 | 02 | 21
cataract • anterior segment • kudos • enlightenment
HIGHLIGHTS
05
Top surgeons share (filtering) surgical pearls...
time for consistent, 09 It’s long-term IOP control in complex glaucomas! in restoration 11 Advances and regeneration research provide hope to glaucoma patients. dissect the 14 Experts associations among blood pressure, IOP and MIGS.
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C A K E M A G A ZIN E ’ S D A ILY CO N GR E S S N E W S O N T H E A N T E R IO R S E G M E N T
On the Hunt for New, Modifiable Risk Factors in Glaucoma by Brooke Herron
A
h, the age-old question: What came first, the chicken or the egg? While that answer is still under debate, glaucoma specialists have their own version of this query: Are there modifiable risk factors for glaucoma — like diet, exercise, air pollution, sleep and systemic medications? And can an increase in one (or more) of these factors lower the odds of developing glaucoma? Thus, on Day 2 of World Glaucoma e-Congress (WGC 2021), an expert panel shared their research on this interesting topic. “Currently, the only modifiable risk factor for glaucoma is intraocular pressure (IOP) and we’re really good at lowering this — however, some patients continue to progress despite low IOP,” said Dr. Yvonne Buys (Canada), who co-moderated the session, along with Dr. Anne Coleman (USA). “Today, we will explore other possible risk factors.”
It’s what you eat While the origin of the phrase “you are what you eat” can be attributed to France in the 1820s, the question is: Should we also account for genetics when assessing the relationship between diet and complex disease? This question was posed by Prof. Louis Pasquale, professor of ophthalmology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, (New York, USA). He said that the answer appears to be “yes.” “We published a study showing dietary nitrates from leafy green vegetables were associated with a reduced risk of primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG),” shared Prof. Pasquale,
adding that the biologic effects of diet need to be considered relevant to the glaucomatous disease process. “I would hypothesize that mitochondrial function is an excellent target to look at in this regard,” he continued. Further, nicotinamide (or vitamin B3) may improve mitochondrial function in glaucoma. “There is strong preclinical data that high dose vitamin B3 is neuroprotective in glaucoma models.” Prof. Pasquale concluded: “Certainly, a dietary interventional study with positive results would represent a major advance in the field of glaucoma.” Food for thought, indeed.
It’s what you breathe Prof. Paul Foster, professor of glaucoma studies at Moorfields Eye Hospital, (London, United Kingdom) has been studying the relationship between air pollution and glaucoma rates. He explained that although air pollution consists of gaseous, organic compounds (i.e., metals) and
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