The relationship of the metabolic syndrome and its correction with the development and progression of glaucoma

Abstract

Glaucoma continues to be the leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide. The main proven risk factor is elevated intraocular pressure. But questions remain on the impact of various somatic diseases and their correction on the course of glaucoma. This review provides information on the metabolic syndrome and considers some of its components and their correction in patients with glaucoma.The metabolic syndrome includes arterial hypertension, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia and obesity. The presented experimental and clinical studies show that the components of the metabolic syndrome correlate with glaucoma. Such components of the metabolic syndrome as arterial hypertension and diabetes mellitus are without doubt risk factors for the development of glaucoma. The opinions of researchers regarding whether obesity and dyslipidemia can also be considered risk factors are ambiguous. Recently, however, interest in them has increased due to in-depth study of the microbiome, since changes in it play a certain role in the development of neurodegenerative diseases of the central nervous system and the retina. Several studies have noted that being overweight and obese is associated with a risk of developing glaucoma. Indicators of lipid metabolism also showed a certain relationship with the risk of developing glaucoma. Treatment of lipid metabolism disorders commonly involves the use of statin drugs. Recent studies show that they may have more than just a hypolipidemic effect. A number of studies has demonstrated that the use of statins improves blood circulation and has a neuroprotective effect.