Link Between Sleep Apnea and Glaucoma Identified

People with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) are at an increased risk of developing glaucoma than non-OSAS sufferers, reveals new study.

While unraveling the details of glaucoma sufferers with normal eye pressure levels, the study found that optic nerve could be damaged due to hypoxia without a spike in eye pressure.

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‘People with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) are prone to suffer from glaucoma (increased eye pressure) at a rate about 10 times higher than non-OSAS sufferers.’

Glaucoma is thought to be a disease in which the optic nerve sustains damage due to increased eye pressure, resulting in a restricted visual field.

"However, it has been technically difficult to continuously measure eye pressure in sleeping subjects. To address the problem, we employed a special sensor akin to a contact lens to monitor pressure changes when OSAS patients' breathing repeatedly stopped during sleep," said Yasuhiro Shinmei, researcher, Hokkaido University.

Normally, intrathoracic pressure is known to rise if people stop breathing (exhaling), resulting in higher eye pressure.

However, the study found unexpectedly that the eye pressure dropped when subjects stopped breathing.

The subjects tended to stop inhaling, not exhaling, due to airway closure, which should lead to lower intrathoracic pressure.

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They also experienced hypoxic effects, as cessations in breathing cause blood oxygen saturation levels to drop, possibly triggering optic nerve damage that can lead to glaucoma.

Source-IANS

Quiz on Glaucoma
Glaucoma is a leading cause of blindness that may not cause any initial symptoms, thus resulting in the patient being oblivious of the condition. Here’s a quiz that will help to keep your knowledge on glaucoma up-to-date.