Patient Education Library - Glaucoma Glaucoma Glaucoma is the leading cause of blindness in the United States. It is a disease that typically affects older people, but it can occur at any age.
Loss of vision is preventable if the disease is detected early and treatment is started.
The eye has about 1 million tiny nerve fibers which run from the back of the eye to the brain. These nerve fibers allow us to see. Glaucoma is a disease which causes the destruction of these fibers. It was once thought that the loss of these fibers was due to strictly to high pressure in the eye. But now it is known that even patients with normal eye pressure can have glaucoma and loss of these nerve fibers.