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Review
. 2023 Apr 15;13(4):1018.
doi: 10.3390/life13041018.

Glaucoma and Systemic Disease

Eugene Hsu  1 , Manishi Desai  1
Affiliations
Review

Glaucoma and Systemic Disease

Eugene Hsu et al. Life (Basel). .

Abstract

Glaucoma is the leading cause of irreversible blindness in the world. Due to its potential to cause permanent vision loss, it is important to understand how systemic conditions and their respective treatments can be associated with or increase the risk for developing glaucoma. In this review, we examined the literature for up-to-date discussions and provided commentary on glaucoma, its pathophysiology, and associated risk factors. We discuss systemic diseases and the impact, risk, and mechanism for developing glaucoma, including pharmacologically induced glaucoma; inflammatory and auto-immune conditions; infectious, dermatologic, cardiovascular, pulmonary, renal, urologic, neurologic, psychiatric and systemic malignancies: intraocular tumors; as well as pediatric, and genetic conditions. The goal of our discussion of systemic conditions including their commonality, mechanisms, treatments, and associations with developing glaucoma is to emphasize the importance of ocular examinations and follow-up with the multidisciplinary teams involved in the care of each patient to prevent unnecessary vision-loss.

Keywords: acute angle closure glaucoma; closed-angle glaucoma; glaucoma; open-angle glaucoma; ophthalmology; systemic disease.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(A) Normal optic nerve. (B) Glaucomatous optic nerve with cupping.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Sketch of the anatomy of the eye. (A) Anterior view of the cornea, iris, pupil and sclera and (B) cross-sectional view. (Schematic by M.D.).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Sketch of (A) the flow of aqueous humor (red arrows) secreted by the ciliary body from the posterior chamber into the anterior chamber through the pupil and exiting through the drainage angle. (B) Close up of the drainage angle and its relevant anatomy. (Schematic by M.D.).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Sketch of (A) angle closure glaucoma due to blockage of flow through the pupil from the posterior chamber to the anterior chamber. (B) Illustration of iris bombe, which occurs when flow is blocked through the pupil and the iris bows forward, further blocking the angle. (Schematic by M.D.).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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