2014 Rapport focuses on primary open-angle glaucoma

PARIS — Based on large datasets, original research and meta-analysis of long-term study reports, this year’s Rapport of the French Society Of Ophthalmology gives a comprehensive view of current epidemiology, risk factors, best practices for disease management and overall cost of primary open-angle glaucoma.

The book contains epidemiology data based on a meta-analysis of all studies between 1959 to 2013, for a total of 33,000 glaucoma cases.

“Results show that in Western countries 2.6% of the population has glaucoma and 50% do not know they do,” Jean-Paul Renard, MD, first author and scientific coordinator, said in an interview with Ocular Surgery News during the SFO meeting.

Jean-Paul Renard

Research on risk factors highlighted associations with other neurodegenerative diseases, such as dementia, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, biologically marked by the presence of tau and amyloid proteins. The Photograf study includes professional exposure to pesticides to the list of environmental risk factors.

“In the southwest regions of France, winemakers that use pesticides were found to have a significantly higher rate of glaucoma than those who don’t,” Renard said.

In the diagnosis chapters, optical coherence tomography stands out as the technology with the highest present and future potential, and early detection is shown to be crucial. New cut-off criteria for detecting progression are proposed, based on a 9-year retrospective study by Renard and co-authors.

A new model for meeting the challenge of increased demand and costs is proposed, involving orthoptists in specific stages of disease management.

Disclosure: Renard has no relevant financial disclosures.

References:
Giraud JM, et al. Progression of visual field in patients with primary open-angle glaucoma: The Study PROG-F 2. Poster presented at: Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology meeting; May 2014; Orlando, Fla.
Renard JP, et al. Acta Ophthalmol. 2013;doi:10.1111/j.1755-3768.2011.02356.x.