Low brain pressure may increase chance of developing glaucoma

A multinational research team led by Lithuanian specialists adds to the body of evidence showing that intracranial pressure plays a substantial role in normal-tension glaucoma, which makes up to 50 per cent of all cases of glaucoma. Low intracranial pressure is linked to poor patient vision, especially in the nose zone, according to a new clinical study. Optic nerve degeneration is the primary cause of glaucoma, one of the main causes of blindness in persons over 60. Patients with glaucoma frequently have elevated intraocular pressure (IOP), also known as eye pressure. Nevertheless, glaucoma may not always develop in those with ocular hypertension. Moreover, individuals with normal IOP may nevertheless acquire glaucoma. Moreover, glaucoma can develop in cases of normal IOP. A so-called normal tension glaucoma (NTG) prevalence among patients in the global population ranges from 30 to 90 per cent according to different studies. “Contemporary medicine has methods to treat elevated eye pressure and to slow or even stop the damage to the optic nerve. However, these methods do not work in the case of normal tension glaucoma. There is a growing awareness among the scientific community, that glaucoma is a condition caused by two pressures – inside the eye and the skull,” says professor Arminas Ragauskas from Kaunas University of Technology (KTU), Lithuania.