Diagnostic markers for glaucoma: a patent and literature review (2013-2019)

Introduction: Glaucoma, a leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide, is commonly diagnosed solely in advanced stages of the disease when important and irreversible losses of visual field have already occurred. The identification of effective biomarkers and methods for diagnostic purposes are main interests of the scientific community. Areas covered: This review presents an overview of the current diagnostic methods used for glaucoma and introduces the areas where new efforts are being done for the identification of more sensitive and specific biomarkers. The review then covers the patent literature of the period 2013-2019 regarding diagnostic approaches and biomarkers of glaucoma and the claimed methods for their qualitative and/or quantitative analysis. Expert opinion: In the absence of treatment, glaucoma can cause blindness in a few years. Early diagnostic tools are urgently needed, as this disease incidence is deemed to rapidly increase in the next decades. The current diagnosis of glaucoma, which is based on specific signs of the disease, such as high intraocular pressure, specific optic nerve head changes and visual field loss, is not enough anymore. Molecular genetics represents the area where most efforts are currently made to improve the early detection and monitoring of the disease progression.