January is Glaucoma Awareness Month. Glaucoma is a common eye condition where the optic nerve, which connects the eye to the brain, becomes damaged.
Over 3 million Americans, and over 60 million people worldwide have glaucoma, but the number might be higher, since a lot of people don’t know they have this disease. Glaucoma is a leading cause of vision loss and blindness in the United States. As much as 40% of vision can be lost without a person noticing.
Unfortunately, glaucoma has no early symptoms, that is why it is very important to raise awareness about regular eye examinations to preserve vision. The only way to check for glaucoma is to get a comprehensive dilated eye exam.
There is no cure for glaucoma, but early treatment can often stop it from damaging people’s vision. Medication or surgery can slow or prevent further vision loss. The appropriate treatment depends upon the type of glaucoma among other factors.
GCT has experience in conducting clinical trials in ophthalmology. For more information, contact us at bd@gctrials.com.