- About 95 million people around the world are living with glaucoma.
- There is currently no cure for this eye condition.
- There are several risk factors for glaucoma, including high cholesterol.
- A new study says that statins, which are typically used to treat high cholesterol, may also help lower a person’s glaucoma risk.
Researchers estimate that about 95 million people around the world are living with glaucoma, an eye condition that damages the optic nerve, which is responsible for transmitting vision information from the eyes to the brain.
Known as the “thief of sight,” glaucoma gradually causes blurry vision, vision loss, and in some cases, complete blindness.
There is currently no cure for glaucoma. The eye disease is usually treated with a combination of medications and surgical therapies.
There are several risk factors for glaucoma. Some, such as
Now a new study published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology reports that statins — medications used to treat high cholesterol — may also help lower a person’s glaucoma risk, as well as the need for surgical treatment in those with glaucoma.
Statin use lowers glaucoma risk by 15% after 5 years
For this study, researchers analyzed medical data from about 210,000 people over 40 years of age with a record of using statins. These people were matched against another set of participants who had never used statins.
At the 5 year follow-up, researchers found that study participants using statins had a 15% lower risk of developing open angle glaucoma. After 10 years, statin users had a 10% reduced risk for glaucoma.
“Glaucoma is a leading cause of irreversible blindness,” Robert N Weinreb, MD, Distinguished Professor of Ophthalmology and Morris Gleich Chair of Glaucoma at the University of California San Diego, lead author of this study, told Medical News Today.
“Lowering the risk of developing open angle glaucoma reduces the likelihood of vision loss,” added Weinreb.
Statin use lowers glaucoma surgical risk
Additionally, researchers discovered that statin use was also linked to a lower risk of requiring surgical intervention for those with glaucoma.
After 5 years, participants taking statins had a 36% lower risk of needing incisional glaucoma surgery, 55% lower risk of needing minimally invasive glaucoma surgery (MIGS), and 60% lower risk of selective laser trabeculoplasty (SLT).
The risk for these procedures continued to reduce after a 10-year follow up — 32% lower risk for incisional glaucoma surgery, 46% lower risk for MIGS, and 51% lower risk for SLT.
“If confirmed in prospective studies, use of statins should be viewed as complementary to standard intraocular pressure-lowering treatments,” Weinreb said. “Although statins may protect against vision loss in glaucoma, their use is not intended to replace conventional treatments that lower intraocular pressure.”
“Prospective randomized trials are needed to better understand the effects of statin use on glaucoma incidence and treatment,” he added.
Is a ‘neuroprotective statin’ possible?
MNT had the opportunity to speak with Benjamin Bert, MD, a board-certified ophthalmologist at MemorialCare Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, CA, about this study.
Bert, who was not involved in the research, commented he found it to be quite interesting since it shows that statin medications helped reduce the risk of developing glaucoma, as well as reduced the escalation of treatment for those who have glaucoma.
“While the exact mechanism is unknown, it does support the previous idea that statins have a neuroprotective effect that benefits the optic nerve as well. Much of our treatment in glaucoma is lowering the eye pressure. However, we know that there are some forms of glaucoma that progress despite adequate control of the intraocular pressure.”
–Benjamin Bert, M.D.
“Making new discoveries like this study allows us to have additional treatment options for patients and ways to try and further protect the optic nerve from glaucomatous damage,” he continued.
“Further exploration into the exact physiology of how the statins are protecting the optic nerve in a patient with glaucoma, would be quite helpful to see if there is an even more targeted medication that can be developed for this cause. A specific ‘neuroprotective statin’ could be helpful in many degenerative neurological disorders,” Bert told us.
Need for glaucoma treatments besides lowering intraocular pressure
MNT also spoke with Daniel Liebman, MD, MBA, ophthalmologist at Massachusetts Eye and Ear and instructor in ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School, who was also not involved in this study.
Liebman commented that this was a large well-designed study using an excellent database, and it’s notable that they studied both the development of glaucoma (incidence) and the control of existing glaucoma.
“This isn’t the first study to look at the link between statins and glaucoma, but it is one of the largest studies to date,” he explained. “It isn’t a randomized controlled trial, however, so while the results are noteworthy, it is not proof of a definite causative or protective effect from statins.”
“I wouldn’t necessarily start someone on a statin purely for glaucoma at this stage, but as many glaucoma patients do take statins, it is nice to see a potential additional benefit apart from controlling their cholesterol,” Liebman added.
Hypothesizing on how a medication used to treat high cholesterol could impact the eyes, Liebman said that some studies have suggested that statins can have an effect on certain biological pathways which control how fluid drains out of the eye, which might help to control eye pressure.
Other studies, he added, have shown statins may have anti-inflammatory or nerve-protective properties which might help the optic nerve resist damage.
“Glaucoma is one of the leading causes of blindness worldwide, and while we have greatly improved our treatment options in recent years, nearly all of these treatment options are focused on one goal of lowering eye pressure,” Liebman continued.
“We know that there are more factors at play than just eye pressure in glaucoma, but until now, we haven’t had any ways to address those other factors. Research helping to explore other treatment options and targets may help open up new avenues to treat this challenging disease,” he concluded.
