Air pollution can cause glaucoma

Living in highly polluted areas can increase the risk of losing sight, suggests a University College study in London (UCL).

Researchers found that people breathing in large quantities of air pollution had at least six percent more predisposed to develop glaucoma than those in clean regions.

The disease, caused by the death of retinal cells in the back of the eye, affects 60 million people worldwide, a 10th of them have gone completely blind.

About 500,000 people in Great Britain and more than 2.7 million Americans suffer from conditions.

Scientists believe that air pollution can cause glaucoma because of the strain of blood vessels that destroy retina cells or by chemicals that are directly toxic to the nerves.

They say that microscopic particles labeled by cars and industries have been breathing deep into the lungs and entering the bloodstream.

Researchers from University College London (UCL) watched 111,370 participants from the Biobank study in Great Britain having eye tests from 2006 to 2010.

The data then referred to air pollution levels using the addresses of the volunteers' homes.

Glaucoma is a condition that can affect vision, usually because of increased pressure within the eye.

He often touches both eyes, usually on a different scale. One eye can develop glaucoma faster than the other.

Glaucoma develops when eye fluid cannot dry properly and pressure increases, known as intraocular pressure.

This can harm the optic nerve (which connects the eye to the brain) and the nerve fibers from the retina (a sensitive nerve to light leading the back of the eye).

Glaucoma can be treated with eye points, laser treatment, or surgery. But early diagnosis is important, since any eye damage cannot be restored. Treatment aims to control the situation and minimize future damage.

If left untreated, glaucoma can cause visual damage. But if it has been diagnosed and treated quite early, further visual damage can be prevented.