GLAUCOMA AND ANTIOXIDANTS

EyeWorld Magazine: February 2008:

This report states:

"New research reveals further evidence that antioxidant treatment could help defeat glaucoma. The study, published in the October 2007 issue of Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, found that oxidative stress is “an early event in hydrostatic pressure/IOP-induced neuronal damage.” It also found that antioxidant treatment reduced oxidative stress in pressure-treated retinal ganglion cells (RGCs).

“These findings support the view that oxidative damage contributes early to glaucomatous optic neuropathy,” wrote study co-author Robert N. Weinreb, M.D., Hamilton Glaucoma Center and Department of Ophthalmology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, Calif.

“Our results demonstrate that oxidative damage occurs within hours of elevated hydrostatic pressure or elevated IOP.”

The report mentioned Ginkgo Biloba and Memantine as alternative aids in enhancing neuroprotection in glaucoma.