Oxidative Stress Exacerbates Glaucoma

ERLANGEN, GermanyOxidative stress appears to be a significant factor in the development of pseudoexfoliation (PEX) glaucoma, which could be modified to avoid development of the condition, according to a new review (Klin Monbl Augenheilkd. 2010 Feb;227(2):108-13). The article out of Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg noted PEX glaucoma is the most common cause of open-angle glaucoma worldwide, and evidence suggests patients with PEX glaucoma have excessive oxidative stress in the body, which plays a role in the pathophysiology of the condition, in which a fibrillar material accumulates in various tissues, including the outflow pathways of the eye. Significantly reduced levels of endogenous antioxidants and total antioxidant capacity in aqueous humor and serum suggest PEX patients have a faulty antioxidant defense system, allowing increases in levels of oxidants and oxidative stress markers. Such chronic oxidative stress induces a pro-inflammatory state that further exacerbates the condition. Modifying the levels of oxidative stress by supporting antioxidant defenses could help manage progression of the condition to open-angle glaucoma.