GLAUCOMA is the leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide however Australian medical researchers are hopeful of developing new treatments.
Glaucoma is a largely invisible disease and 50 per cent of people with glaucoma in Australia are undiagnosed.
Researchers from The Westmead Institute for Medical Research are exploring whether genes associated with glaucoma risk can be controlled by repurposing “off the shelf” drugs to create specifically tailored and inexpensive glaucoma therapies.
Institute glaucoma specialist, Dr Andrew White said new therapies for this poorly understood disease were desperately needed and so far the results from their studies were promising.
“Glaucoma affects 400 000 Australians and costs the Australian economy approximately two billion dollars a year. Treatments continually need improvement and we think we are on the way to finding some of those therapies,” Dr White said.
“Essentially there are a now a number of genes found associated with increased risk of glaucoma,” Dr White said. “Nobody knows what they do or how they work. We are looking the mechanisms behind these genetic risk factors and how we can tailor specific treatments for those at risk.”
Dr White, who is also a clinician at the Westmead Hospital, said the tailor-made treatments involve repurposing “off the shelf” medications, which will then be tested on participants identified as carrying the genetic variations.
“Essentially, we are looking to create cheap, personalised medicine. There are a number of medication options we are exploring and we are still some way from a clinical trial,” Dr White said.
“Glaucoma can make it very difficult for people to cope in their day to day activities. In some cases of advanced glaucoma, people can’t drive, they have very poor depth perception and their chances of falling down a flight of stairs is very high,” Dr White said.
“It’s World Glaucoma Week from March 6-12. This week is designed to raise awareness of glaucoma. I encourage everyone over the age of 40 to get an eye exam to test for the early signs of glaucoma.”
