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Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that share a common
denominator of progressive and irreversible damage to the optic
nerve.
The optic nerve can be considered as the cable that connects optic
impulses from the eye to the brain. Just like a common cable consists
of many smaller and thinner wires, the optic nerve consists of many
smaller and thinner
nerve fibers
. Each nerve fiber is responsible for
the transportation of optic impulses from a specific part of our visual
field.
If damage occurs in a certain batch of fibers, as is the case with
glaucoma, the result is a deterioration or a complete loss of vision in
a certain field that correlates with the area of damage.
The nerve fibers that have been destroyed cannot be regenerated,
and the visual field loss is irreversible.
This is why prevention and
early diagnosis of glaucoma is of the utmost importance.
It is estimated that over 150.000 people in Greece and 50 million
worldwide suffer from glaucoma, making it the second cause of
blindness after cataract.
What is glaucoma?
