title: Links among glaucoma, neurodegenerative, and vascular diseases of the central nervous system.
abstract: Glaucoma is the leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide. Although the intraocular pressure (IOP) has been considered for long time the key point and the only treatable risk factor of the disease, there are cases in which glaucoma continues to progress despite normal IOP values. Vision loss in glaucoma is related to a selective decrease in the number of retinal ganglion cells by apoptosis that is associated to alterations of the central visual pathways. Interestingly, similar events have been also described in disorders of the central nervous system (CNS), such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy, and cerebrovascular diseases. In this review, we discuss recent evidence supporting pathological links between glaucoma and disorders of the CNS.
authors.affiliation: Ophthalmology Unit, Department of Experimental Medicine and Surgery, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy. Electronic address: nucci@med.uniroma2.it.
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Nucci
authors.affiliation: Ophthalmology Unit, Department of Experimental Medicine and Surgery, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Alessio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Martucci
authors.affiliation: Ophthalmology Unit, Department of Experimental Medicine and Surgery, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cesareo
authors.affiliation: Diagnostic Imaging Section, Tor Vergata University Hospital, Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Garaci
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy and Health and Nutritional Sciences, Section of Preclinical and Translational Pharmacology, University of Calabria, Arcavacata di Rende, Italy; University Consortium for Adaptive Disorders and Head Pain (UCHAD), Section of Neuropharmacology of Normal and Pathological Neuronal Plasticity, University of Calabria, Arcavacata di Rende, Italy.
authors.forename: Luigi Antonio
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Morrone
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy and Health and Nutritional Sciences, Section of Preclinical and Translational Pharmacology, University of Calabria, Arcavacata di Rende, Italy.
authors.forename: Rossella
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Russo
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Sciences, University "Magna Graecia" of Catanzaro, Catanzaro, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria Tiziana
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Corasaniti
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy and Health and Nutritional Sciences, Section of Preclinical and Translational Pharmacology, University of Calabria, Arcavacata di Rende, Italy; University Consortium for Adaptive Disorders and Head Pain (UCHAD), Section of Neuropharmacology of Normal and Pathological Neuronal Plasticity, University of Calabria, Arcavacata di Rende, Italy.
authors.forename: Giacinto
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bagetta
authors.affiliation: Ophthalmology Unit, Department of Experimental Medicine and Surgery, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Raffaele
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mancino
mesh_terms: D002561:Cerebrovascular Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005901:Glaucoma / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D007429:Intraocular Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D019636:Neurodegenerative Diseases / Q000503:physiopathology*; D020758:Spinal Cord Vascular Diseases / Q000503:physiopathology*
keywords: Alzheimer; Cerebrovascular diseases; Glaucoma; Leber; Parkinson