PMID: 22568105May 10, 2012Paper

New insights into the pathogenesis of glaucomatous optic neuropathy and refinement of the objective assessment of its functional damage

Nippon Ganka Gakkai zasshi
Makoto Nakamura

Abstract

Glaucomatous optic neuropathy is a primary pathological condition responsible for visual dysfunction due to glaucoma. However, how intraocular pressure and other risk factors lead to glaucomatous optic neuropathy is not fully understood. Given that static or kinetic visual field tests for evaluating visual dysfunction in glaucomatous optic neuropathy are a subjective assessments based on a psychophysical principle, the development of a tool for objective assessment of the visual field is needed. In this study, we attempt to elucidate the pathophysiology of glaucomatous optic neuropathy and to refine a modality for the objective assessment of the visual dysfunction due to it. Aquaporin (AQP) water channels are located primarily in the plasma membrane. These proteins form either a homo- or hetero-tetramer and allow water to cross the plasma membrane bi-directionally. The transmembrane water movement through AQPs is critically involved in the maintenance of normal neuronal activity. Among the 13 isoforms indentified so far, AQP-4 is known to be expressed in the retrobulbar portion of the optic nerve. However, the optic nerve head, the primary pathological site of glaucomatous optic neuropathy, reportedly does not express AQP-4. We...Continue Reading

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