HALF OF all cases of a preventable form of blindness go undiagnosed in Ireland. The result is needless vision loss, a conference in Dublin has heard.
Glaucoma was a major cause of blindness yet the condition was readily treated if diagnosed, delegates to the Irish College of Ophthalmology’s annual conference in Dublin were told yesterday.
It affects 2 per cent of adults over 50 years old and 5 per cent of those over 70, said Colm O’Brien, professor of ophthalmology at University College Dublin.
Relatively symptomless in its early stages, an estimated 50 per cent of cases go undiagnosed, he said. He highlighted the importance of regular screening in preventing the damage caused by glaucoma.
Prof Balwantray Chauhan told delegates about a new method for picking up early changes in the eye to gauge the progress of glaucoma.
He is based at Dalhousie University in Canada and is the principal investigator of the Canadian Glaucoma Study.
“All the evidence indicates that if we can diagnose a patient in the early stage of glaucoma, it is highly likely that treatment will prevent progression of the condition,” he said.
Being able to detect the small initial changes in the patient’s field of vision or in the optical disc where the optic nerve joins the retina at the back of the eye was one of the “most challenging issues” in clinical practice, he said.
His study allowed patients to be tracked over a long period. This helped the research team to pick up on very small changes in the eye and identify those who needed “customised management” to treat their condition, he said.
The conference at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland continues until tomorrow.