Glaucoma as Neurodegeneration in the Brain

Abstract

Jane W Chan,1 Noel CY Chan,2 Alfredo A Sadun1,3 1Department of Ophthalmology, Doheny Eye Institute, Pasadena, CA, USA; 2Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Ophthalmology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USACorrespondence: Jane W Chan Tel [phone]Fax [phone]Email [email protected]: Glaucoma, a group of diseases characterized by progressive optic nerve degeneration that results in irreversible blindness, can be considered a neurodegenerative disorder of both the eye and the brain. Increasing evidence from human and animal studies have shown that glaucoma shares some common neurodegenerative pathways with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and other tauopathies, such as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and frontotemporal dementia. This hypothesis is based on the focal adhesion pathway hypothesis and the spreading hypothesis of tau. Not only has the Apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene been shown to be associated with AD, but also with primary open angle glaucoma (POAG). This review will highlight the relevant literature in the past 20 years from PubMed that show the pathogenic overlap between POAG and AD. Neurodegenerative pathways that contribute to transsynaptic neurodegeneration in AD and other tauopathies might also be similar to those in glaucomatous neurodegeneration.Keywords: primary open-angle glaucoma, tauopathy, amyloid precursor protein, phosphorylated tau, Alzheimer’s disease

Keywords

• primary open-angle glaucoma
• tauopathy
• amyloid precursor protein
• phosphorylated tau
• alzheimer’s disease