The aim of the research is to discover new systemic biomarkers for psuedoexfoliation syndrome glaucoma and open angle glaucoma. It is carried out in collaboration with Amelie Botling-Taube, an eye surgeon, researcher and Head of the Glaucoma Section at St. Erik Eye Hospital.
Glaucoma is the leading cause of irreversible blindness affecting almost 80 million patients worldwide. What causes optic nerve degeneration in glaucoma is not entirely known, but elevated intraocular pressure is a major risk factor for many glaucoma patients.
Pseudoexfoliation syndrome (PEX) is an age-related condition characterized by the accumulation of extracellular fibrillary material in the anterior segment of the eye. PEX predisposes for glaucoma and complications during and after cataract surgery. The PEX glaucoma is also characterized by a more rapid progression of visual field defects compared to open angle glaucoma.
Pete Williams. Photo: Bildmakarna
”In conjunction with cataract surgery we will collect blood samples and fluids from the eye in normal and glaucoma patients, to identify novel biomarkers that may be present in the eye or systemically in glaucoma patients. Molecules that are changed in both the eye and systemically represent ideal candidate biomarkers for glaucoma and possibly represent targets for novel neuroprotective therapies,” Pete Williams says.
Åke Wibergs Stiftelse, in Swedish
More about Pete Williams' research