In Japan, the number is as high as 70 percent. Eye pressures were lowered through a variety of methods including laser and cutting surgery and eye drops. This is big news. We have debated for years whether or not eye pressure matters in this disease. Proving that lowering pressure makes a difference is big news.
Researchers caution doctors and patients that the decision to treat is a highly individual one.
While lowering eye pressure helps to reduce progression of NTG, surgical treatments often lead to the progression of cataracts. Dr. Stephen Drance of the University of British Columbia and Dr. Douglas Anderson of the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute led the privately funded study involving more than 200 patients in North America and Europe. It should also be noted that among those whose pressures were lowered, one-sixth of them still experienced further glaucoma damage. In addition, more than half of the volunteer subjects in the study's control group who received no treatment showed little or no progression of the disease over three years. However, eventually the majority of patients showed some progression.