New study highlights early indicators for glaucoma

Researchers have identified a biological change that takes place in the eye that could help identify patients at risk of suffering from glaucoma.

Using diagnostic photos and other data from the Australian Blue Mountains Eye Study, scientists found that individuals who had abnormally narrow retinal arteries when the study began were most likely to suffer from glaucoma after ten years.

By tracking nearly 2,500 participants, it was determined that people with the narrowest retinal arteries were four times more likely to eventually be struck by the eye condition, while it was also shown that older female patients with high blood pressure were at greater risk.

It is currently difficult to detect glaucoma in patients due to its lack of symptoms, placing sufferers at risk of experiencing vision loss.

Dr Paul Mitchell of the Centre for Vision Research at the University of Sydney said: "Early detection would allow ophthalmologists to treat patients before optic nerve damage occurs and would give us the best chance of protecting their vision."

In England, about 480,000 people have chronic open-angle glaucoma, with other forms of the disease such as acute angle-closure glaucoma proving less common.