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eye to eye newsJuly 2022The Glaucoma Foundation | Page OneMESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENTDear Readers,In recent months, Arcial Intelligence (AI) has been on the front burner at The Glaucoma Foundaon. In March, Dr. Louis R. Pasquale presented our rst webinar on the subject “Using Arcial Intelligence to Disentangle Glaucoma Pathogenesis.” As an NIH Principal Invesgator, Dr. Pasquale’s research focuses on the discovery of primary prevenon strategies in the open-angle glaucomas. He has been a co-invesgator on many research projects to assess the use of arcial intelligence and machine learning algorithms in glaucoma. You can read about his talk in this issue and watch the recorded webinar anyme by vising our website under the EVENTS tab.Today, doctors have no way to predict how each paent’s glaucoma will evolve, which complicates decisions about treatment and when/if surgery might be indicated. In December, TGF awarded a $250,000 grant to Dr. Linda M. Zangwill and her team at the University of California, San Diego, to develop an AI algorithm capable of forecasng the progression of a person’s glaucoma. We hope that this research will eventually provide physicians with crucial informaon and lead to mely, targeted intervenons and beer outcomes.New WebinarsHow will arcial intelligence (AI) improve glaucoma care? How can AI support clinicians in the treatment of their glaucoma paents? What are the challenges in implemenng appropriate AI systems in clinical pracce? Joe Love Deborah Waxenberg, PhDlmmaker/paent clinical psychologistNavigating the Psycho/Social Aspects of GlaucomaA paent and therapist discuss ways to preserve your mental and emoonal health.LIVE ON JULY 26, 5 PM EDTcontinued on pg 8Now on TGF’s website,EVENTS
The Glaucoma Foundation | Page TwoMy name is Miriam Bere, aged 50. I live in Harare, Zimbabwe. I was diagnosed with glaucoma in October 2021. I had not heard about this disease before. The doctor told me I had already lost 90% of my sight in one eye and 60% in the other. I was told I had to use eye drops to preserve what was le of my eye sight. I use mul-focus lenses. Fast-forward to the present. I have lost another 7% in the worst aected eye. This diagnosis was done in May 2022, seven months aer the rst diagnosis. By this me I could not see very clearly. I had gone for 3 months without using my eye drops and this worsened my condion. I have resumed using my eye drops, but I am sll struggling to do my work as I am employed as an admin assistant. I struggle to see the pointer on my computer, so working has become a nightmare. Being a mother of three with two sons in college and a daughter sll in primary school, I sll have to work or nd another source of income to nd money for school fees. My husband has hypotension and suered a mild stroke in 2016. I am nding it very dicult to connue working since my sight is very poor. I have a piece of land, 400 square metres, where I can grow vegetables and rear some chickens to raise income for my childrens’ school fees. The problem is, I have no water to use so I have to raise funds to sink a borehole to a connuous supply of water throughout the year. If I could get that funding, I would be able to work and raise enough money to connue educang my children and buying my eye drops on a monthly basis since I am not on medical aid.I will use my spare me to raise awareness on glaucoma — to spread the message to those who do not know. eye to eye newsLiving With Glaucoma
The Glaucoma Foundation | Page Threeeye to eye newsGlaucoma in Underserved PopulationsOphthalmic care for glaucoma is limited in rural areas of the U.S. and in the developing world. However, even when healthcare services are adequate, a paent must also have the nancial means to pay for services or insurance that is accepted by the provider; the means to reach and use services, such as transportaon to services that may be located at a distance; the ability to take me o of work to use such services; and condence in their ability to communicate with healthcare providers, parcularly if the paent has poor health literacy.1 Staggering StatisticsIn many regions of Sub Saharan Africa, there is only one ophthalmologist per 1 million people. In some African populaons, glaucoma is responsible for up to 30% of blindness, and paents’ presentaon is typically late, with up to 50% of them blind in one eye at the me of diagnosis. As has been documented in other areas of the developing world, approximately 90% of African paents with glaucoma are unaware that they have the disease. 2Populaon studies in China have shown that only about 10% of paents with glaucoma in rural areas are diagnosed and treated, and the experience of the small minority who do receive treatment is far from ideal. Both paents and doctors in rural areas lack the basic understanding that glaucoma is an asymptomac disease requiring thorough examinaons for mely detecon and eecve treatment.3In the U.S., only about 30 % of all federally qualied health centers provide eye care services, despite the growing disparies that exist for rural Americans.4Many eyecare professionals do not accept Medicaid, not because they priorize prot over paent care, but because accepng state plans with poor reimbursement is simply not nancially sustainable.51 Rural Health Informaon Hub hps://www.ruralhealthinfo.org/topics/healthcare-access2 Glaucoma Today, Internaonal Perspecves | July/August 2013, Meeng the Challenge of Glaucoma in Africa, Sco D. Lawrence, MD, and Donald L. Budenz, MD, MPH3 GT, Internaonal Perspecves | March/April 2016, Managing Glaucoma in Rural China4 Naonal Rural Health Associaon Policy Brief hp://www.nrharural.org5 Modern Optometry, April 2022, Optometric Care in Rural America
“Grand Opening” by Robert Wortmann, 2021 Art ChallengeThis annual event raises money for innovave research into the rescue and restoraon of vision lost to glaucoma. We invite everyone who makes art, and everyone who appreciates their visions, to parcipate. The Third Annual TGF Art Challenge to Celebrate Vision hps://glaucomafoundaon.org/art-challenge/ The Glaucoma Foundation | Page Foureye to eye news eye to eye newsPlease join us in August to raise money for sight-saving research!
The TGF Art Challenge is about vision, for vision. Artists shareEnter in one of the three ers (young arst, amateur, or professional) each of which is assigned a minimum donaon level. Submit your bio and a digital version of your work – an original photograph, drawing, painng, collage, print, glass, poery, texle, jewelry piece, or sculpture. ART COMES INTO FOCUS through DONATIONS Beginning on August 16, your submied art will appear as a pixelated image on a personal fundraising page through our website. When donaons in your honor reach the required level, your artwork will come into full focus and it will move into our virtual art gallery at the end of fundraising on September 16. VIEWERS honor artists Viewers honor the visions of arsts with donaons and, at the close of fundraising, will also be invited to acknowledge their favorite artwork from the virtual gallery. tgf gives bacK TGF will give back with two awards of $500. The rst will be announced on September 16 for the arst with the most donaons. The second will be announced on September 22 for the arst with the most votes from the tens-of-thousands of visitors to our website. Each parcipang arst and $500+ donor will receive Visions For Vision 2022, a book of all the art and arsts’ bios.RESEARCH IS ADVANCEDGis made through the TGF Art Challenge will support innovave glaucoma researchers in the Foundaon’s 2023 grant cycle.The Glaucoma Foundation | Page Fiveeye to eye news
The Glaucoma Foundation | Page Six eye to eye newsDOCTOR, I HAVE A QUESTIONIf I have heart disease or problems with my blood vessels, should I be worried about my risk for glaucoma?Alon Harris, MS, PhD, FARVOProfessor of Ophthalmology, Vice Chair of Internaonal Research and Academic Aairs, Director of Ophthalmic Vascular Diagnosc & Research Program, Mount Sinai Hospital, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New YorkGlaucoma is a common eye disease affecting millions of persons worldwide, and today it is the leading cause of irreversible blindness in African Americans. The risk for glaucoma increases with age, and other factors and medical conditions may further increase the odds for its onset and progression. Intraocular pressure is the only currently approved therapeutic pathway. However, in many patients, lowering eye pressure does not prevent the disease or stop its progression, and vascular health has been demonstrated for many years to be a contributory factor in many individuals. Glaucoma is a multi-factorial disease inclusive of intraocular pressure and vascular deficits such as poor blood supply to the optic nerve and low blood pressure.The cells within your eye responsible for vision, the retinal ganglion cells, require constant blood flow and nourishment to maintain their health and provide vision. Lower biomarkers of blood flow and metabolism have been identified within the eyes of glaucoma patients, either alone or in combination with elevated eye pressure. Specifically, vascular deficiencies have been identified in the blood vessels supplying the eye and within retinal, choroidal, and optic nerve tissues. However, the extent to which vascular disease may elevate your risk for glaucoma is uncertain and highly individual in nature. The pressure within your eye in combination with your vascular health, unique anatomy, demographics, and other conditions such as diabetes will ultimately determine your overall risk for the onset and progression of glaucoma.
Would you like to receive newsleers by email? Subscribe on our website: www.glaucomafoundation.orgOr call us (212) 285-0080 | Or write to us at info@glaucomafoundation.orgThe Glaucoma Foundation | Page Seven eye to eye newsImportantly, being of African descent significantly elevates your risk for glaucoma. Persons of African descent experience approximately a threefold increase in glaucoma compared to those of European descent, having both earlier onset and faster disease progression. The mechanisms behind these significant disparities are not well understood or adequately addressed in current practice, but may be in part due to the significantly higher levels of systemic vascular disease observed within African American communities. Persons of African descent have significantly higher levels of diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease as well as glaucoma. In my laboratories, we previously identified lower biomarkers of blood flow and metabolism in the retina and blood vessels supplying the eye in glaucoma patients of African descent, and further identified how these deficits were associated with their disease progression. Our recent studies point to an urgent need for larger prospective trials with African descent endpoints as the primary outcomes to confirm these findings.In summary, cardiovascular disease and blood vessel health have indeed been linked to glaucoma, especially within persons of African descent. However, the extent to which vascular health may influence your risk for glaucoma or its progression is currently difficult to determine. The vascular imaging equipment required to visualize these tissues are expensive, require specific training, and produce complex data with high individual variability. To overcome these limitations my teams are currently working on using mathematical modeling and artificial intelligence applications to enhance the ability to use these vascular data in determining glaucoma risk and designing the best approaches for improved patient outcomes.
eye to eye newsThis issue is made possible with support from Delta Gamma Foundation - Service for Sight.thank you for your supportYour donation matters.Since it’s founding in 1984, The Glaucoma Foundation has never wavered from its principle mission: to fund cutting edge glaucoma research and to educate the public about glaucoma, its diagnosis, and its treatment. e support of individuals like you has provided us with the resources to deliver on this mission. Please give online or with the enclosed envelope.MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT, cont.You can read more about Dr. Zangwill and watch her webinar, “Harnessing Arcial Intelligence to Improve Glaucoma Management: Challenges & Opportunies.” on our website.On July 26, the lmmaker and glaucoma paent Joe Love, and psychologist Deborah Waxenburg, will talk about preserving your mental and emoonal health. There will be a Q&A aer their discussion and we urge you to parcipate. You can register on the website under the EVENTS tab.We are especially grateful to Santen, Inc. for providing funding for these webinars. Santen is a global leader in ophthalmological research and the development, producon, and markeng of related pharmaceucals and medical devices. With Santen’s support, our webinars have been viewed by thousands of people in the U.S. and abroad, strengthening a valuable educaonal link between TGF and a broad audience of researchers, physicians, and paents We are also very fortunate to have a partner in AbbVie pharmaceucals. AbbVie invests billions of dollars in research to discover, develop and deliver new medicines, targeng diseases with signicant unmet need where they can improve the standard of care with innovave new therapies. We thank them for making a generous donaon to the Foundaon in April to assist us in all aspects of our work. As always, we are grateful to you and all of our readers for your abiding interest in The Glaucoma Foundaon, and for supporng us in our mission to improve the lives of people with glaucoma.With all best wishes,Elena Sturmaninfo@glaucomafoundaon.org