Glaucoma and Alzheimer’s Disease

Submitted by Dr. Dean Dornic on Thu 05/07/2009 - 09:38

Open-angle glaucoma patients are at an increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease over time, a review of 12 years of Medicare claims found.

Researchers presented their findings at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology meeting recently. To come to their conclusion, the investigators followed a group of glaucoma patients and compared them to a similar group of patients without glaucoma. The glaucoma patients were much more likely to eventually develop Alzheimer’s disease.