title: Reducing the visual burden of glaucoma in Asia: what we know and what we need to know.
abstract: Despite great progress in elucidating risk factors and effective treatments for eye disease in the last decades, blindness prevalence in the developing and developed world is either static or rising. A research agenda is needed to develop and test specific strategies to reduce the burden of blindness from glaucoma and other common eye diseases. Current knowledge about open and closed-angle glaucoma is reviewed and a strategy to reduce glaucoma blindness in Asia is suggested. A critical component of this strategy is enhanced training in the detection of narrow angles and optic nerve damage by direct examination. Specific research topics that could inform such a strategy are outlined.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR. ncongdon@cuhk.edu.hk
authors.forename: Nathan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Congdon
mesh_terms: D001208:Asia / Q000453:epidemiology; D001766:Blindness / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D015812:Glaucoma, Angle-Closure / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005902:Glaucoma, Open-Angle / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans