16.03.2016The Significance of the Immune System for Glaucoma

PD Dr. Stefanie Joachim, Experimental Eye Research, University Eye Clinic, Knappschaftskrankenhaus, Bochum

Glaucoma is one of the most common causes of blindness in the world. In the course of the disease the ganglion cells in the eye’s retina, as well as the fibres in the visual nerve gradually die. The main risk factor for glaucoma is an increased intraocular pressure, but it is by far the only cause of the disease. In some glaucoma patients a change in their autoantibodies has been shown. The “Experimental Eye Research Institute” investigates how the immune system contributes to the development of the disease. Its findings could, in the future, help develop new forms of therapy.