Glaucoma and cataract

Glaucoma and cataract: reasons behind the vision loss

Glaucoma and cataract together cause the majority of the blindness cases in the world. Technically, cataract is a name for the cloudy formations troubling the vision and glaucoma is a common name for optic nerve damages that can trouble the vision. Glaucoma is mainly caused by ocular hypertension, sometimes it can be inherited genetically, acquired after eye trauma, use of some medicines or disorders restricting blood flow to the eye. Cataract’s main reason is simple the aging of the human body, resulting in lens protein denaturation and degradation. However, other risk factors exist, including familial history of cataract, eye trauma, radiation exposure, skin diseases, smoking or taking some medicines.

Treatment of glaucoma and in Japan

Japan Glaucoma Society stated that that 1 in 20 Japanese people over 40 years old suffer from glaucoma (日本緑内障学会多治見緑内障疫学調査報告, 2001). Currently, there is no absolute way to treat glaucoma. However, there are some ways to slow down the progress of the disease and to preserve vision.

• Reducing intraocular pressure is considered the best way to treat glaucoma in Japan with many eye drops for this purpose,
• Laser trabeculoplasty is used relatively seldom,
• Glaucoma drainage implants,
• Lens extraction.

While the earlier eye drops for glaucoma had many local and systemic side effects, modern medications like Lumigan, Latanoprost and Glanatec are safe, easy to use and effective.

Treatment of cataract in Japan

With aging population, Japan faces the problem of developing cataract in elderly people. Japanese ophthalmologists state that 70% of patients over 60 years old, 90% of patients over 70 years old and almost 100% of patients over 90 years old have cataract. Two main ways to treat cataract are using eye drops and surgical operations. In our store we can offer Catalin K eye drops for cataract with pyrenoxin. This medicine prevents protein in the lens from insolubilization, by this inhibiting the lens opacification and its progression.

Your consulting doctor should prescribe the treatment according to your disease, age and symptoms.