Rising global rate of glaucoma poses challenge to effective treatment

BOSTON — With an estimated 80 million to 105 million glaucoma patients around the world — a number that is likely to rise — viewing the treatment of the disease from a global perspective is key to effectively treating it, a glaucoma expert said here.

Tarek Shaarawy

"You are well-aware of the problem of aging demographics, and in most industrialized countries, the number of glaucoma patients is going to double in the next 20 years," Tarek Shaarawy, MD, said at the World Glaucoma Congress. "It certainly poses a specific challenge, and one that has to be answered and met now, before it is too late."

Dr. Shaarawy said developed nations have a global responsibility to treat glaucoma. About 95% of those who are blind from the disease live in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, posing unique problems to treatment.

"In Africa, glaucoma is a killing disease," he said at a symposium supported by an educational grant from Pfizer. "The mortality rate of blind in Africa is four times more than that of a patient who sees."

Many glaucoma patients do not have access to glaucoma medications for multiple reasons. Dr. Shaarawy advocated a surgical approach to treatment, especially in developing nations, to avoid issues posed by medications.