Journal of Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology
Open Access

Abstract

Glaucoma and Alzheimer Disease: Age-Related Neurodegenerative Diseases with Shared Mechanisms?

Aiyin Chen and Yvonne Ou

Emerging evidence suggests that glaucoma and Alzheimer disease (AD), both age-related neurodegenerative diseases, may share common features and mechanisms. Clinically, support for this association is found in studies showing an increased prevalence of glaucoma among AD patients. However, other studies, including population-based epidemiologic investigations, did not show an increased rate of AD or dementia in patients with glaucoma. Although there is growing interest in a possible relationship between glaucoma and AD, the specific mechanisms that may be common among both diseases are still being examined. It has been demonstrated that optic nerves from AD patients have loss of retinal ganglion cells, as in glaucoma. Furthermore, key processes in AD, including caspase activation, abnormal processing of amyloid precursor protein, and amyloid beta deposition, have been implicated in rodent models of glaucoma. Understanding these pathological processes may shed light on new potential therapies to treat this irreversible and blinding disease.