Glaucoma is one of the leading causes of irreversible visual impairment worldwide in the elderly and it represents a public health problem. It is a social disease and its prevalence is estimated to growth up to 112 million people in 2040. Several studies demonstrated that primary open angle glaucoma is a neurodegenerative disease and it shows important analogies with other neurodegenerative disorders as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease. Retinal ganglion cells (RCG) have cell death mechanisms similar to those of Alzheimer’s disease, primarily represented by apoptosis. Among the mechanisms involved the apoptotic cascade is protein misfolding. Studies showed that the ß-Amyloid deposits and intraneuronal accumulations of hyperphosphorylated tau protein (pTau), specific of Alzheimer’s disease, are involved in the pathogenesis of glaucoma.
In the context of neurodegeneration, recent studies have been conducted to analyze changes at the cerebral level in glaucomatous patients who have shown functional and structural variations in the visual pathways and in brain connectivity; these alterations also affect areas other than those related to the visual pathways. It has been shown that these changes are correlated with clinical findings and severity of the disease. Entity and mechanism also in elderly of brain plasticity, cortical reorganization up to now are not completely understood. Furthermore, the possibility of therapeutic strategies to contrast the neurodegeneration could be an interesting path to follow.
From a clinical point of view, visual field defects represent the most well-known functional impairment in glaucoma, but in recent years numerous researches have been conducted to identify and quantify other visual abilities that are closely related to daily life and that may be altered in glaucomatous patients. The study of these functional aspects is closely linked to the involvement of the whole brain in glaucoma.
On the basis of these data, the purposes of this Research Topic are (but not limited to):
- to expand the field of knowledge on brain involvement in glaucoma through the use of new neuroimaging techniques capable of detecting and staging glaucomatous damage in the central nervous system.
- to highlight the type and extent of impairment of other visual abilities beyond the visual field that are compromised by the disease such as contrast sensitivity, luminous sensitivity, color discrimination, binocular vision etc. and the impact of the damage caused by glaucoma on performing visually guided tasks (reading, driving, mobility…) in the patient's everyday life and therefore on the quality of life.
- to suggest or even better to identify the biomarkers for early diagnosis and / or early monitoring of disease progression and to assess the effectiveness of neuroprotective treatments.
This Research Topic will welcome Review, Minireview, Original Research, Perspective, Methods, Brief research report, Case report, Systematic reviews and meta-analyses, Opinion articles.
Glaucoma is one of the leading causes of irreversible visual impairment worldwide in the elderly and it represents a public health problem. It is a social disease and its prevalence is estimated to growth up to 112 million people in 2040. Several studies demonstrated that primary open angle glaucoma is a neurodegenerative disease and it shows important analogies with other neurodegenerative disorders as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease. Retinal ganglion cells (RCG) have cell death mechanisms similar to those of Alzheimer’s disease, primarily represented by apoptosis. Among the mechanisms involved the apoptotic cascade is protein misfolding. Studies showed that the ß-Amyloid deposits and intraneuronal accumulations of hyperphosphorylated tau protein (pTau), specific of Alzheimer’s disease, are involved in the pathogenesis of glaucoma.
In the context of neurodegeneration, recent studies have been conducted to analyze changes at the cerebral level in glaucomatous patients who have shown functional and structural variations in the visual pathways and in brain connectivity; these alterations also affect areas other than those related to the visual pathways. It has been shown that these changes are correlated with clinical findings and severity of the disease. Entity and mechanism also in elderly of brain plasticity, cortical reorganization up to now are not completely understood. Furthermore, the possibility of therapeutic strategies to contrast the neurodegeneration could be an interesting path to follow.
From a clinical point of view, visual field defects represent the most well-known functional impairment in glaucoma, but in recent years numerous researches have been conducted to identify and quantify other visual abilities that are closely related to daily life and that may be altered in glaucomatous patients. The study of these functional aspects is closely linked to the involvement of the whole brain in glaucoma.
On the basis of these data, the purposes of this Research Topic are (but not limited to):
- to expand the field of knowledge on brain involvement in glaucoma through the use of new neuroimaging techniques capable of detecting and staging glaucomatous damage in the central nervous system.
- to highlight the type and extent of impairment of other visual abilities beyond the visual field that are compromised by the disease such as contrast sensitivity, luminous sensitivity, color discrimination, binocular vision etc. and the impact of the damage caused by glaucoma on performing visually guided tasks (reading, driving, mobility…) in the patient's everyday life and therefore on the quality of life.
- to suggest or even better to identify the biomarkers for early diagnosis and / or early monitoring of disease progression and to assess the effectiveness of neuroprotective treatments.
This Research Topic will welcome Review, Minireview, Original Research, Perspective, Methods, Brief research report, Case report, Systematic reviews and meta-analyses, Opinion articles.
