New definition of glaucoma

Glaucoma is defined as a condition with intraocular pressure(IOP) >20 mm/Hg or IOP asymmetry between fellow eyes >2 with one or all of the following features.

1) A definite notch in the neuroretinal rim (a defect of at least 1 disc unit for a circumferential extent of less than 2 clock hours), or
2) Absence of neuroretinal rim not due to optic neuritis, anterior ischemic optic neuropathy, giant cell arteritis or other known cause, or
3) A difference in C/D ratio of >2, or
4) A difference in DDLS >1 which cannot be explained by anisometropia or other nonglaucomatous reason.

Note that this disc change must fit with a definite visual field defect, that is,
1) At least 3 contiguous points depressed by at least 5 dB,
2) A pattern of loss corresponding to a nerve fiber bundle type of defect.

What are the types of Glaucoma?

There are several different types of glaucoma depending on the mechanism of the disease process. They are as follows.

1. Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma
2. Acute Angle Closure Glaucoma
3. Chronic Angle Closure Glaucoma
4. Inflammatory Open-Angle Glaucoma
5. Pigmentary Glaucoma
6. Pseudoexfoliation Glaucoma
7. Phacolytic Glaucoma
8. Phacomorphic Glaucoma
9. Lens-Particle Glaucoma
10. Angle Recession Glaucoma
11. Steroid responsive Glaucoma
12. Neovascular Glaucoma
13. Postoperative Glaucoma
14. Malignant Glaucoma( Aqueous Misdirection Syndrome)
15. Glaucomatocyclitic Crisis( Posner Schlossman Syndrome)
16. Plateau Iris Syndrome
17. Iridocorneal Endothelial Syndrome
18. Ocular Hypertension
19. Normal Tension Glaucoma
20. Glaucoma Suspect

What is glaucoma

Glaucoma is a group of conditions in which the tissues of the eye become damaged by intraocular pressure that is higher than the eye can tolerate. The most characteristic and specific type of damage occurs to the optic nerve. The retinal ganglions cells become damaged, as a result of which the nerve becomes atrophic in characteristic ways and vision is lost in characteristic ways. The most traditional way of defining the visual loss in glaucoma relates to changes in the visual field which are most characteristically in the nasal portion of the filed, but can involve the entire visual field when the optic atrophy becomes marked. The disease is quite strongly asymmetric, one optic nerve being affected more than the other.