Top glaucoma stories of 2023: doxycycline, blue-light filtering IOLs
Therapies for treating glaucoma, including doxycycline and blue-light filtering IOLs, made top headlines this year in optometry news.
Healio also published several blogs by Nicole Albright, OD, clinic director at Moses Eyecare Center in Merrillville, Indiana, who shared insight about the link between myopia and glaucoma, as well as the inevitable shift to medical management for older patients.
Read below for summaries of these stories from 2023.
Doxycycline promising adjunctive therapy for lowering IOP
Results from a pilot study showed that low-dose doxycycline may hold promise as an adjunct treatment for IOP reduction, according to a poster presented at Academy 2022.
Study co-author Dominick L. Opitz, OD, FAAO, of the Illinois College of Optometry, told Healio that a patient with glaucoma whom he treated with doxycycline for concomitant ocular surface disease experienced an IOP reduction of 26% to 35%. Read more.
High genetic risk associated with rapid visual field worsening in glaucoma
Individuals with a high polygenic risk were more likely to experience rapid structural and functional progression in early-stage glaucoma, despite receiving intensive treatment, researchers reported in JAMA Ophthalmology.
“Polygenic risk scores (PRSs) are a probabilistic summary of an individual’s genetic risk of a disease or trait and are increasingly recognized as a tool in disease risk prediction and phenotyping,” Owen M. Siggs, MD, DPhil, of the department of ophthalmology at Flinders University in Australia, and colleagues wrote. “In the context of glaucoma, PRSs have been shown to effectively stratify risk of glaucoma, age at diagnosis and the rate of OCT thinning in early manifest glaucoma cases.” Read more.
BLOG: What’s the connection between myopia and glaucoma?
With the growing prevalence of myopia and concern about its long-term complications, many optometrists are offering myopia management for pediatric patients, to hopefully limit the progression of their myopia.
It is estimated that by 2050, about half the world’s population will be myopic, and 10%, or 938 million people, will have high myopia. Myopia — and especially high myopia — increases the risk for retinal detachment, myopic macular degeneration, cataract and open-angle glaucoma. Read more.
BLOG: Glaucoma care demands shift to medical-model optometry, medical billing
As our population size increases and grows older, treatment of ocular disease will become more prominent in optometric practices. Consequently, the percentage of revenue generated by medical management will grow.
For glaucoma patients, specifically, this is a result of the higher level of diagnostic testing and visit frequency required. To maximize profitability and properly care for these patients, it is vital to ensure accurate billing and consistent scheduling of follow-up appointments. Read more.
Blue-light filtering IOLs help prevent glaucoma after cataract surgery
Blue-light filtering IOLs exhibited an advantage in favorable glaucoma outcomes after cataract surgery over non-blue-light filtering lenses, according to a study published in the Journal of Glaucoma.
“Whether a [blue-light filtering] design has any clinical implications regarding glaucoma development or progression remains unsolved,” Idan Hecht, MD, of the department of ophthalmology at Shamir Medical Center in Israel, and colleagues wrote. “The aim of this study was to evaluate real-life data from cataract surgery patients receiving either [blue-light filtering] or non-[blue-light filtering] IOLs and to assess the development and progression of glaucoma between the two groups.” Read more.
Increased niacin intake may reduce glaucoma risk, particularly in women
Higher levels of niacin intake were associated with a decreased risk for glaucoma among participants in the 2005-2008 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, according to study results published in the Journal of Glaucoma.
Researchers additionally observed an association between increased niacin intake and decreased risk for glaucoma among women but not men. Read more.
Axial length affects RNFL thickness, optic nerve in glaucoma patients
Research presented at Academy ’23 showed that axial length can affect measurements of retinal nerve fiber layer thickness and optic nerve disc and rim areas in glaucoma suspects and patients.
“That’s particularly important in patients with high myopia because that could be earnestly mistaken for glaucomatous damage, which is not necessarily the case,” Nevin W. El-Nimri, OD, MS, PhD, FAAO, senior clinical scientist at Topcon Healthcare, told Healio. Read more.