Studies of Glaucoma Damage and Its Prevention

The research in Drs. Quigley and Dr. Jampel’s laboratory is directed at many of the important problems in glaucoma, including the early and accurate diagnosis of the disease, and its causes and treatment. The optic nerve, which carries visual impulses from the eye to the brain, is the tissue whose damage from glaucoma can lead to visual loss and blindness. The clinical assessment of the shape of the optic disc, that portion of the optic nerve that is visible to the ophthalmologist, is crucial to the diagnosis and management of glaucoma. In the past year researchers in Drs. Quigley and Jampel’s laboratory have used a computerized camera called an image analyzer to measure changes in the contour of the optic disc when the eye pressure is elevated. The findings will hopefully lead to more accurate diagnosis and better care of glaucoma patients. We have also made progress in determining why some patients with high eye pressure develop glaucoma damage while others do not. We have observed differences in the elasticity of the connective tissue of the optic disc that may explain patient susceptibility to elevated eye pressure. The treatment modality that has been the focus of research in Drs. Quigley and Jampel’s laboratory is glaucoma surgery. This surgery is intended to lower eye pressure after medicines and lasers have failed. Unfortunately, the surgery, which works by producing a new channel through which fluid can leave the eye, does not always work. This is because the normal healing response of the body tends to close the channel. To solve this problem, we have continued to study the use of a dissolvable implant at the time of surgery that slowly releases drugs after surgery. In the past year we have explored two novel drugs that potently inhibit the scarring process in animals. In the next year we will confirm these results, and try to develop the most effective and least toxic system for potential use in patients.