Read more

January 19, 2023
1 min read
Save

GATT shows promise as treatment for myocilin glaucoma in children

You've successfully added to your alerts. You will receive an email when new content is published.

Click Here to Manage Email Alerts

We were unable to process your request. Please try again later. If you continue to have this issue please contact customerservice@slackinc.com.

KOLOA, Hawaii — Gonioscopy-assisted transluminal trabeculotomy has shown positive results for the treatment of myocilin glaucoma, according to a presenter here.

Erin A. Boese, MD, said that myocilin glaucoma is an autosomal dominant condition “that causes very high IOP in young individuals.”

OSN0123HE_Boese_infographic

“Of course, we’re limited by the number of people that we have so far and the limited follow-up, but I think, as any of you who’ve dealt with myocilin glaucoma know, it’s historically very challenging to treat,” Boese said at Hawaiian Eye 2023.

Boese performed gonioscopy-assisted transluminal trabeculotomy (GATT) on eight eyes of four children between the ages of 9 and 17 years old who had myocilin glaucoma. Each patient had parents affected by myocilin glaucoma.

Before GATT, the average IOP among the eight eyes was 38.5 mm Hg, which decreased 78% to an average of 11.5 mm Hg after GATT, according to Boese. Additionally, seven eyes were controlled without medication, and all eight eyes had 20/20 vision or better with full visual fields.

Despite the limitations, which include a small sample size and limited follow-up, Boese said that the results show promise for the future of genetically based glaucoma treatment.

“So far, GATT has been tremendously successful in these children with myocilin glaucoma,” Boese said. “To our knowledge, this is the first genetically targeted surgical treatment for glaucoma.”

Boese was named Speaker of the Day at Hawaiian Eye 2023 for this presentation.