Glaucoma. Classifications, treatment options, patient care

Advances in pharmacology, cell biology, and laser and fiberoptic technology are providing many opportunities in glaucoma research. As researchers increasingly understand the physiology of the eye, they develop new therapies. A wide variety of new drugs including dopaminergics, calcium channel blockers, and prostaglandins are under investigation for glaucoma treatment. The THC:YAG laser is being developed to perform thermal sclerotomy and may eliminate much of the risk associated with standard filtering surgery. Biologic, anatomic, and biochemical studies of the trabecular meshwork are leading to greater understanding of aqueous humor formation, aqueous humor outflow in the normal eye, and aqueous humor flow resistance in the glaucomatous eye--knowledge that eventually could provide preventive measures or eliminate glaucoma entirely.