WVU Eye Institute and University of Pittsburgh team up for laser trial to treat glaucoma

A new study to be conducted by the WVU Eye Institute and the University of Pittsburgh seeks to improve on the challenges of treating patients with glaucoma. 

As the leading cause of irreversible blindness, glaucoma causes damage to the optic nerve resulting in slow, painless vision loss over many years. Though there is no cure, most patients avoid blindness by using eye drops one or more times a day, but these eye drops have their challenges — they are often expensive and have side effects including eye irritation, stinging, and chronic redness. 

The National Eye Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health, recently awarded WVU and the University of Pittsburgh $15.2 million to study how a treatment called selective laser trabeculoplasty (SLT) can be better used to treat glaucoma. 

“Our hope is that a brief low-energy laser procedure performed in the office once a year will effectively lower eye pressure without the hassle, expense, and side effects of daily medical therapy,” said the study’s principal investigator Tony Realini, MD, MPH, professor of ophthalmology and a glaucoma specialist at the WVU Eye Institute.

Like eye drops, SLT also treats glaucoma by lowering eye pressure, but the procedure may only need to be performed once a year, allowing patients freedom from a daily treatment regimen. 

Read the full article on WVU Today.