Diagnosing glaucoma as early as possible -- before it
destroys the optic nerve -- is key to preventing vision
loss, according to the researchers, from the Bascom
Palmer Eye Institute at the University of Miami Miller
School of Medicine.
The test, known as a pattern electroretinogram optimized
for glaucoma screening, measures the electrical activity
of the retina as a person looks at an alternating pattern
of black and white lines. The test can detect dysfunction
and abnormal changes in retinal ganglion cells (RGCs)
that appear early in the glaucoma process, the researchers
said, making it potentially valuable as a non-invasive
method of detection.
Studying 47 people with glaucoma who had surgery because
their intraocular pressure could not be controlled by
medications, the researchers said the test was able
to show reversal of RGC dysfunction and reduced intraocular
pressure after the operations. However, larger studies
are now needed to confirm the results, study co-leader
Mitra Sehi said in a news release from the American
Academy of Ophthalmology.
SOURCE: American Academy of Ophthalmology,
news release, Dec. 1, 2010; article by Robert Preidt
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