Nuzzi Raffaele, Tridico Federico
Eye Clinic Section, Department of Surgical Sciences, University of Turin, Ophthalmic HospitalTurin, Italy.
Front Neurosci. 2017 Sep 5;11:494. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2017.00494. eCollection 2017.
Glaucoma is a common degenerative disease affecting (RGC) and optic nerve axons, with progressive and chronic course. It is one of the most important reasons of social blindness in industrialized countries. Glaucoma can lead to the development of irreversible visual field loss, if not treated. Diagnosis may be difficult due to lack of symptoms in early stages of disease. In many cases, when patients arrive at clinical evaluation, a severe neuronal damage may have already occurred. In recent years, newer perspective in glaucoma treatment have emerged. The current research is focusing on finding newer drugs and associations or better delivery systems in order to improve the pharmacological treatment and patient compliance. Moreover, the application of various stem cell types with restorative and neuroprotective intent may be found appealing (intravitreal autologous cellular therapy). Advances are made also in terms of parasurgical treatment, characterized by various laser types and techniques. Moreover, recent research has led to the development of central and peripheral retinal rehabilitation (featuring residing cells reactivation and replacement of defective elements), as well as innovations in diagnosis through more specific and refined methods and inexpensive tests.
青光眼是一种常见的退行性疾病，会影响视网膜神经节细胞（RGC）和视神经轴突，病程呈进行性和慢性。它是工业化国家导致社会失明的最重要原因之一。如果不进行治疗，青光眼会导致不可逆转的视野缺损。由于疾病早期缺乏症状，诊断可能会很困难。在许多情况下，当患者前来进行临床评估时，可能已经发生了严重的神经元损伤。近年来，青光眼治疗出现了新的观点。目前的研究集中在寻找新的药物和联合用药方式或更好的给药系统，以改善药物治疗和患者的依从性。此外，应用各种具有修复和神经保护作用的干细胞类型（玻璃体内自体细胞疗法）可能会很有吸引力。辅助手术治疗也取得了进展，其特点是采用了各种激光类型和技术。此外，最近的研究推动了中枢和外周视网膜康复（以驻留细胞重新激活和替换缺陷元件为特征）的发展，以及通过更特异、精细的方法和廉价检测手段在诊断方面的创新。
