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A new study led by Australian researchers on the retinas of glaucoma patients has identified 122 common molecular markers unique to both diseases. While the link between Alzheimer’s and glaucoma is not new, this discovery provides the most conclusive evidence to date.
This discovery will now pave the way for further studies to test these markers in the blood of patients who are suffering from either Alzheimer’s or glaucoma, even in the early stages, providing hope for more affordable and non-invasive tests for the two debilitating conditions.
“Anything we can do which improves the detection of Alzheimer's disease and glaucoma at an earlier stage using unbiased molecular information will have a positive impact on the health outcomes of patients in future” says co-author Dr Vivek Gupta.
Researchers from the Indiana University School of Medicine hope to develop new glaucoma therapies by testing human neurons and a regenerative therapy to rescue dying visual neurons. They’ve received a new five year, US$2 million grant from the National Eye Institute for the project.
People of African ancestry are five times as likely as others to develop glaucoma and up to 15 times as likely to be blinded by the condition, but most research has used data from people of European ancestry.
We are inviting individuals who have accessed eyecare services previously to participate in a focus group discussion so that we can better understand what good eye care means to the patient.