An Introduction to Glaucoma‏

There is a principle which is a bar against all information,
which is proof against all argument,
and which cannot fail to keep man in everlasting ignorance.
That principle is condemnation without investigation.
(Herbert Spencer)

 

 

 

Introduction

  Refs. 1-3 provide some information on nutrition and eyesight. Ref. 4, although it has a provocative title, also provides useful information.

Glaucoma

"There have been quite a few papers published on reducing intraocular pressure with high oral doses of vitamin C. About 15 of them are discussed in a wonderful book with the unassuming title of The Healing Factor, written by Irwin Stone. Part of chapter 20 deals with glaucoma." Dr. Andrew Saul (4)

 

"The 1962 paper by Heath (1), with forty references to the literature, reviewed the work on ascorbic acid and the eye.  He cited twelve separate biochemical processes in which ascorbic acid is involved and speculated on the functions of ascorbic acid in the eye and its possible involvement in diabetic retinopathy, detachment of the retina, and maintenance of the proper consistency of the internal fluids of the eye.  It has been known since the early 1930s that ascorbic acid is normally found in the eye at much higher levels than in the blood and in many other tissues."

Irwin Stone (The Healing Factor)

  Stone influenced the great Linus Pauling. Pauling met with Stone and read Stone's book about vitamin C. 

 

"Linner (2), in 1964 in Sweden, showed that 0.5 grams of ascorbic acid administered twice daily produced a significant drop in the intraocular pressure of normal eyes.  He published another paper, in 1969, in which he showed that 2 grams of ascorbic acid a day, orally, produced the same significant decrease in glaucomatous eyes." Stone (Ch. 20, The Healing Factor)

  Refs. 5-36 provide more information on ascorbic acid as a treatment for glaucoma. There are also drugs that are used in the form of eye drops. These include timolol opthamologic and combigan, which contains timolol opthamologic as well as another ingredient. Unfortunately these drugs have many interactions with other drugs including over-the-counter medicines. The interactions weaken the effectiveness of the drops. More information on these interactions, which includes interactions with aspirin, is given at www.drugs.com.

 

Integrative Medicine

  The term "integrative medicine" was invented by Dr. Andrew Weil (37). Dr. Weil discusses glaucoma and its treatments on his excellent website. Peripheral vision is lost first. There are various types of glaucoma including open angle glaucoma. Although Weil is not an opthamologist, I was impressed by his discussion of the complex and very important subject. He wrote that oral medicines are also used as treatments (in addition to drops). Surgery is sometimes used to reduce the ocular pressure.

  Weil favors conventional treatments as well as certain alternative approaches. You should lower your caffeine intake and stop smoking. There are claims that smoking marijuana, unlike cigarettes, can lower the intraocular pressure (inside the eyeball). Weil favors excercise including "brisk" walking. He feels that this helps the circulation. He also favors vitamin C as well as other antioxidants. Weil is more conservative than Dr. Saul. However, Weil would be considered more liberal than opthamologists.

Conclusions

  As usual, more research needs to be done. However, a massive amount of research has already been done (see the references). We should take advantage of the research that has already been done. If there is interest, I might write a sequel with more information about drug interactions and glaucoma drugs. I am also interested in the causes of glaucoma, although aging is a factor. Heredity can also be a factor. There is a possibility that some drugs may cause glaucoma as a side effect.

 

References

1. Carper, Jean  Food: Your Miracle Medicine, HarperCollins, 1993, pages 438-439. 

2. Cheraskin and Ringsdorf, Psychodietetics, Bantam, 1974 

3. Hoffer and Walker, Orthomolecular Nutrition, Keats, 1978 

4. www.doctoryourself.com.

5. Head KA. Natural therapies for ocular disorders, part two: cataracts and glaucoma. Altern Med Rev. 2001 Apr;6(2):141-66. Review. PMID: 11302779

 

6. Wendt MD, Soparkar CN, Louie K, Basinger SF, Gross RL. Ascorbate stimulates type I and type III collagen in human Tenon's fibroblasts. J Glaucoma. 1997 Dec;6(6):402-7. PMID: 9407369

 

7. Schachtschabel DO, Binninger E. Stimulatory effects of ascorbic acid on hyaluronic acid synthesis of in vitro cultured normal and glaucomatous trabecular meshwork cells of the human eye. Z Gerontol. 1993 Jul-Aug;26(4):243-6.

PMID: 8212793

 

8. Aleksidze AT, Beradze IN, Golovachev OG. [Effect of the ascorbic acid of the aqueous humor on the lipid peroxidation process in the eye in primary open-angle glaucoma] Oftalmol Zh. 1989;(2):114-6. Russian. PMID: 2755654

 

9. Baxter RC. Vitamin C and glaucoma. J Am Optom Assoc. 1988 Jun;59(6):438. PMID: 3403887

 

10. Ringvold A, Johnsen H, Blika S. Senile cataract and ascorbic acid loading. Acta Ophthalmol (Copenh). 1985 Jun;63(3):277-80. PMID: 4036556

 

11. Asregadoo ER. Blood levels of thiamine and ascorbic acid in chronic open-angle glaucoma. Ann Ophthalmol. 1979 Jul;11(7):1095-1100. PMID: 485004

 

12. Lee PF, Fox R, Henrick I, Lam WK. Correlation of aqueous humor ascorbate with intraocular pressure and outflow facility in hereditary buphthalmic rabbits. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 1978 Aug;17(8):799-802. PMID: 567210

 

13. Ray SS, Thomas A. Intravenous glycerol-sodium ascorbate combination as osmotic agent to reduce intraocular pressure. Indian J Ophthalmol. 1977 Jul;25(2):27-30. PMID: 615147 

 

14. Fox RR, Lam KW, Coco JF. Effect of ascorbic acid on intraocular pressure of normal and buphthalmic rabbits. J Hered. 1977 May-Jun;68(3):179-83. PMID: 893992

 

15. Lee P, Lam KW, Lai M. Aqueous humor ascorbate concentration and open-angle glaucoma. Arch Ophthalmol. 1977 eb;95(2):308-10. PMID: 836213

 

16. Ogino T, Yoshikawa T, Hasebe N, Yaguchi S, Yada K. [Studies on experimental glaucoma. (II)--Variations in vitamin C level in the aqueous humor of the anterior chamber or rabbits treated with steroids (author's transl)] Nippon Ganka Gakkai Zasshi. 1976;80(4):226-9. Japanese. PMID: 945679 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

 

17. Lam KW, Lee PF. Analysis of ascorbate concentration in the aqueous humor by high-pressure liquid chromatography. Invest Ophthalmol. 1975 Dec;14(12):947-50. PMID: 1193811

 

18. Shen TM, Yü MC. Clinical evaluation of glycerin-sodium Ascorbate solution in lowering intraocular pressure. Chin Med J (Engl). 1975 Jan;1(1):64-8. No abstract available. PMID: 803441

 

19. Fishbein SL, Goodstein S. The pressure lowering effect of ascorbic acid. Ann Ophthalmol. 1972 Jun;4(6):487-91. PMID: 5030227

 

20. Bietti G. Recent experimental, clinical, and therapeutic research on the problems of intraocular pressure and glaucoma. Am J Ophthalmol. 1972 Apr;73(4):475-500. Review. PMID: 4402298 or 4259816

 

21. Carapancea M, Ciontesco L, Udresco E.  [Homeostatic, experimental and clinical reactions of vitamin C and calcium in endo-ocular water metabolism in high-altitude hyperophthalmotonia] Rev Roum Physiol. 1972;9(4):311-22. Review. French. PMID: 4603582

 

22. Tams G. [The pressure-lowering action of glycerin ascorbate-Na] Klin Monatsbl Augenheilkd. 1971 May;158(5):663-7. German. PMID: 5578948

 

23. Noah VB, Geeraets WJ. The effect of ascorbic acid on the facility of outflow in normal and buphthalmic rabbits. Acta Ophthalmol (Copenh). 1971;49(3):410-7. PMID: 5171607

 

24. Katsnel'son LA, Suprun AV, Mogilevskaia FIa, Iartseva NS. [Treatment of glaucoma with glycero-ascorbate] Vestn Oftalmol. 1969 Nov-Dec;6:48-51. Russian. PMID: 5381942

 

25. Takeuchi T, Kitazawa Y, Nakamura C, Goto I.  [A comparative study on the effects of intravenous ascorbic acid and mannitol on IOP in man] Nippon Ganka Gakkai Zasshi. 1968 Apr 10;72(4):390-3. Japanese. PMID: 5693557

 

26. Moschini GB. [Modifications of hematic osmotic pressure and ocular tonus after intravenous infusions of high doses of vitamin C (sodium ascorbate)] Boll Ocul. 1968 Feb;47(2):143-52. Italian. PMID: 5744806

 

27. Bietti GB. [Possibilities of vitamin C administration as an intraocular pressure lowering agent. Studies on its mode of action] Ber Zusammenkunft Dtsch Ophthalmol Ges. 1968;68:190-206. German. PMID: 5756769

 

28. Missiroli A, Neuschüler R, Pecori Giraldi J. [Therapeutic possibilities of the association of oral glycerol and ascorbic acid in the treatment of glaucoma] Boll Ocul. 1967 Nov;46(11):877-90. Italian. PMID: 5606562

 

29. Suzuki Y, Kitazawa Y, Kawanishi K.  [The effect of intravenous ascorbic acid on IOP in man] Nippon Ganka Gakkai Zasshi. 1967 May;71(5):481-8. Japanese.  PMID: 5624920

 

30. Virno M, Bucci MG, Pecori-Giraldi J, Missiroli A. [Findings on the hypotensive intraocular effect of high oral doses of ascorbic acid. Preliminary results in glaucoma therapy] Boll Ocul. 1967 Apr;46(4):259-74. Italian. PMID: 5610221

 

31. Hilsdorf C.  [On the decrease of intraocular pressure by intravenous drop infusion of 20 per cent sodium ascorbinate] Klin Monatsbl Augenheilkd. 1967 Apr;150(3):352-8. German. PMID: 5587993

 

32. Suzuki Y, Kitazawa Y. [The effects of topical administration of ascorbic acid on aqueous humor dynamics of glaucomatous eyes] Nippon Ganka Gakkai Zasshi. 1967 Jan;71(1):57-60. Japanese. PMID: 6068742

 

33. Virno M, Bucci MG, Pecori-Giraldi J, Cantore G. Intravenous glycerol-vitamin C (sodium salt) as osmotic agents to reduce intraocular pressure. Am J Ophthalmol. 1966 Nov;62(5):824-33. PMID: 5928830

 

34. Phillips CI. Conservative management of the glaucomas. Trans Ophthalmol Soc U K. 1966;86:233-45. PMID: 5226576

 

35. Virno M, Bucci MG, Pecori-Giraldi J, Cantore GP.  [Sodium ascorbate as an osmotic agent in glaucoma] Boll Ocul. 1965 Aug;44(8):542-50. Italian. PMID: 5881731

 

36. Wirth A.  [Therapeutic procedures for modifying the rate of flow of aqueous humor. II. Administration of ascorbic acid in case of absent postoperative formation of the anterior chamber.] Boll Ocul. 1957 Feb;36(2):87-90. Italian. PMID: 13460039

 

 37. www.drweil.com.