Glaucoma is the third most common cause of blindness globally.
It is a degenerative, life-long disease caused by raised intraocular pressure which gradually crushes the optic nerve fibre, causing sight loss. Our research aims to identify the underlying physiology of glaucoma, work towards better understanding of the eye and develop novel therapies to save sight.
Our current research into glaucoma includes:
- Work with the International Glaucoma Genetics Consortium to publish the largest-ever study on the genes causing glaucoma, which identified 44 new genes associated with the disease. This will open pathways for developing new treatments and improving family screening programs.
- Improving glaucoma surgery success rates using OCT lymphangiography to see the normally invisible, clear vessels on the eye’s surface.
- Development of a prototype device called OcuLinx™, which will change how cerebrospinal fluid is measured.
- The TARRGET Study, which is identifying people at high risk of developing glaucoma blindness.
- Participation in clinical trials of a new oral tablet that may reduce intraocular pressure.
Professor Bill Morgan with Dr Virna Oktariana and her team in Indonesia
Professor Bill Morgan, Managing Director of the Lions Eye Institute, was recently interviewed on 6PR about his involvement in two inventions that changed the way glaucoma surgery is managed in Australia and around the world. Professor Morgan, alongside Professor Dao-Yi Yu AM and their research team, spent 20 years researching and developing the XEN® Gel Stent, which has been implanted in about 100,000 patients around the world. This work led to the development of a low-cost device called the Virna Glaucoma Drainage Device, which is now manufactured and used in Indonesia on patients to lower their eye pressure and provide a new pathway for fluid inside the eye to drain.
Listen to the radio interview below and read more about our research into glaucoma.
