Clinical Ophthalmology Open Access Full Text Article Alzheimer’s disease and primary open-angle glaucoma: is there a connection? Dovepress open access to scientific and medical research R e v i e w Fani Tsolaki1 eleni Gogaki1 Sotiria Tiganita1 Christina Skatharoudi1 Chr ysanthi Lopatatzidi1 Fotios Topouzis2 Magdalini Tsolaki3 1Ophthalmology Department, Hippokrateion General Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece; 2Ophthalmology Department, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece; 3Neurology Department, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece Correspondence: Fani Tsolaki Ophthalmology Department, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Anaximandrou 24, 54250, Thessaloniki, Greece Tel +30 695 717 1148 Fax +30 231 091 2645 email gtagarakis@gmail.com Aim: To present, through a thorough literature research, current and older scientific efforts to investigate the putative association between Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and glaucoma, especially primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG). Methods: We included in our review article epidemiological, experimental and clinical laboratory studies. Results: While many authors support the existence of a strong correlation between the AD and POAG, based on epidemiological, genetic and immunohistochemical data, others present contradictory results, leaving the issue unresolved. Conclusion: Further research, probably targeted towards genetic parameters and based on large, multicenter studies has yet to be conducted. It is the authors’ opinion however, that the existing data already justify the need for at least some degree of elevated clinical alertness for the occurrence of AD in patients with glaucoma and of glaucoma in patients with AD. Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease, primary open-angle glaucoma, amyloid beta, apolipoprotein E, cerebrospinal fluid pressure, review article Introduction Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder which is one of the main causes of dementia worldwide. It gradually affects all fields of cognition, including short and long-term memory, executional capacity and behavior. Unfortunately, despite advanced and intense research, no definitive therapy is currently available.1 Glaucoma, one of the leading causes of blindness today,2,3 with 60 million persons affected and 8.4 million bilaterally blinded by the disease,3 is also a neurodegenerative disorder, characterized by degeneration of the retinal ganglion cells. The attempt to link these two disorders has been the focus of much research in recent years. The evidence-based establishment of such a connection would have a lot to offer in terms of increased clini- cal awareness, prophylaxis and early diagnosis of dementia for glaucoma patients and vice versa; it would also allow novel therapeutic approaches based on the knowledge of common etiology or causal relationship between the two conditions. In this review article, we have examined important recent and older articles dealing with the subject, both epidemiological/clinical as well as experimental, in an effort to clarify the problem and highlight the need for further research in this direction. We have focused our interest on primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG), which is the most common form of the disease, and which, due to its unknown etiology, is most likely to share common ground with AD. submit your manuscript | www.dovepress.com Dovepress http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/OPTH.S22485 Clinical Ophthalmology 2011:5 887–890 © 2011 Tsolaki et al, publisher and licensee Dove Medical Press Ltd.This is an Open Access article which permits unrestricted noncommercial use, provided the original work is properly cited. 887