Glaucoma, a leading cause of blindness, is a group of diseases that result in optical nerve damage. There are two forms of glaucoma: open-angle and closed-angle glaucoma.  The open-angle form is usually caused by the slow drainage of aqueous humor from trabecular meshwork; the high intraocular pressure (IOP) caused by the accumulation of fluid in the front chamber of the eye results in the damage of optical nerve. The closed-angle form, a less common disease, is usually caused by the block of trabecular meshwork by iris.  Although high IOP (>21 mmHg) is the most common risk factor for optical nerve damage, a good portion of people with high IOP never develop glaucoma; conversely, more than 50% of glaucoma patients (depending on their ethnic background) never develop high IOP.

NHP Glaucoma models available at KBI:

•  Spontaneous glaucoma screened by IOP

• Laser-induced open angle glaucoma
• Laser-induced normal tensive glaucoma

IOP is measured using TonoVet eye tonometer; Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer thickness (RNFLt) is analyzed using Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT); Retinal Ganglion Cell (RGC) function is assessed using Electroretinalgram (ERG).