TJ-CEO
2013 , Vol 8 , Num 3
Glaucoma and Central Nervous System Changes
1M.D., Osmaniye State Hospital, Eye Clinic, Osmaniye/TURKEY2M.D., Gazi University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Ophthalmology, Ankara/TURKEY Glaucomatous damage has been described as a slowly progressive neuronal degenerative process along the visual pathway. Decreased cerebral and ocular blood flow as well as impaired vascular autoregulation have been identified in glaucoma and reported to correlate with visual field loss. Alterations in the retino-geniculo-cortical pathway together with the loss of retinal ganglion cells (RGC) in both experimental models and glaucoma patients have been reported. In low-tension (LTG) and pseudoexfoliative glaucoma patients, diffuse cerebral ischemic changes have been detected through magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Understanding central visual system changes in glaucoma will provide insights into human glaucomatous neural degeneration and disease progression and shed light on novel strategies to prevent vision loss in glaucoma. Keywords : Glaucoma, central nervous system, lateral geniculate nucleus