Glaucoma is favored by nocturnal apneas. American study warns

ROME – Patients who suffer from obstructive sleep apnea or who have repeated breathing episodes while they sleep are at a 10-fold higher risk of developing glaucoma. The American Glaucoma Research Foundation warns:
Sleep apnea is a phenomenon that unites approximately 12 million Italians aged 40 and over, with a range of symptoms ranging from daytime sleepiness to insomnia. lack of concentration: that is why 12,000 road accidents a year are due to this cause. The risk of hypertension, heart attack and stroke in patients with OSA was known, while the discovery is more recent that they could have negative effects on the eye pressure that could precede the development of glaucoma
. The decrease in oxygen levels in the blood and the oxidative stress that occurs during the apnea contributes to the progressive damage of the optic nerve, particularly the ganglion cells, the progressive loss of which is responsible for the typical symptoms. glaucoma, such as peripheral vision loss. "To find out if apneas have ocular consequences," says Luciano Quaranta, head of the Glaucoma Treatment Center in Spedali di Brescia – you can use an innovative contact lens that records continuous fluctuations in intraocular pressure with a sensor The use of these special contact lenses occurs at the same time as polysomnography, the examination that records changes in physiological parameters during sleep, so as to check if the pressure of the eye increases during the apnea episode. "People with apnea
diagnosed – concludes the expert – should undergo regular checkups in order to intercept any sign of eye disease as soon as possible and institute appropriate therapy. "