Normal tension glaucoma: from the brain to the eye or the inverse?

• Published in: Neural regeneration research Vol. 14; no. 11; pp. 1845 - 1850
• Main Authors: Zhang, Hui-Jun, Mi, Xue-Song, So, Kwok-Fai
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: India Wolters Kluwer India Pvt. Ltd 01.11.2019; Medknow Publications and Media Pvt. Ltd; Medknow Publications & Media Pvt. Ltd; Department of Ophthalmology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China%Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Institute of CNS Regeneration, Jinan University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China; Department of Ophthalmology, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China; State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China; Wolters Kluwer - Medknow; Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications
• Subjects: Analysis; Blood pressure; Brain research; Central nervous system; Cognitive ability; Glaucoma; Magnetic resonance imaging; nerve regeneration; normal tension glaucoma; open angle glaucoma; neurodegenerative diseases; visual field; cerebrospinal fluid pressure; imaging techniques; pathogenesis; magnetic resonance imaging; diffusion tensor imaging; metabolic changes; neural regeneration; Nervous system; Neurodegeneration; Pathogenesis; Prevalence studies (Epidemiology); Raynaud disease; Review; Studies; metabolic changes; neurodegenerative diseases; pathogenesis; magnetic resonance imaging; neural regeneration; imaging techniques; open angle glaucoma; diffusion tensor imaging; nerve regeneration; visual field; normal tension glaucoma; cerebrospinal fluid pressure
• ISSN: 1673-5374; 1876-7958
• DOI: 10.4103/1673-5374.259600

Glaucoma is a chronic, progressive optic neuropathy characterized by the loss of peripheral vision first and then central vision. Clinically, normal tension glaucoma is considered a special subtype of glaucoma, in which the patient's intraocular pressure is within the normal range, but the patient experiences typical glaucomatous changes. However, increasing evidence has challenged the traditional pathophysiological view of normal tension glaucoma, which is based only on intraocular pressure, and breakthroughs in central nervous system imaging may now greatly increase our knowledge about the mechanisms underlying normal tension glaucoma. In this article, we review the latest progress in understanding the pathogenesis of normal tension glaucoma and in developing imaging techniques to detect it, to strengthen the appreciation for the connection between normal tension glaucoma and the brain.