Risk factors

Abstract

POAG is a less aggressive disease compared to angle-closure glaucoma and exfoliative glaucoma. There is evidence regarding the natural course of untreated glaucoma thanks to the St. Lucia study and the early manifest glaucoma trial (EMGT). In the St. Lucia Study, 29% of eyes that were reexamined after 10 years had developed end-stage glaucoma, while 16% of patients were blind in at least one eye [77]. Most patients were untreated during the 10-year interval between exams. In the EMGT, 76% of untreated early glaucoma patients progressed (according to specific study criteria for progression on visual fields) after a median follow-up of 8 years, although specific data regarding rates of blindness are not available [38]. © 2010 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.