(Washington, D.C.) The Alliance for Eye and Vision Research (AEVR) is excited to continue its Research Saving Sight, Restoring Vision Initiative activities by launching its first Congressional Briefing of 2022, Understanding Glaucoma Patients: Health Disparities and Unmet Needs which will be held virtually on Tuesday, March 8, from 12pm-1pm ET, during World Glaucoma Week.
To RSVP for the Briefing, contact Dina Beaumont at [email protected] or 202-407-8325, or visit the Briefing’s registration page and sign up today.
AEVR’s Glaucoma Briefing is co-sponsored by Research to Prevent Blindness, the American Glaucoma Society, the Glaucoma Research Foundation, and the Optometric Glaucoma Society, with the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) providing streaming support and Glaukos providing event management support.
Featured speakers include experts in Glaucoma treatment and research and a unique patient perspective. Leon Herndon, Jr, MD of Duke University Medical Center will speak about glaucoma diagnosis, treatment, and research, and the health disparities and unmet needs that persist for patients. Thomas Brunner, President & CEO of the Glaucoma Research Foundation, will speak to the work being done in research to continue to improve patient outcomes and find a cure for glaucoma, and Trinh Green, MD will speak from a unique patient perspective as someone who was diagnosed with Glaucoma in her twenties and is a practicing clinician.
Glaucoma is the second leading cause of preventable vision loss in the United States. It is a neurological disease affecting the optic nerve that causes vision loss—and ultimately blindness. Glaucoma affects more than 2.7 million Americans over age 40, with that number estimated to more than double by year 2050 without continued advancements in diagnosis and treatment brought about by research. Characteristics such as age, ethnicity, high intraocular pressure (IOP), and optic nerve structure are associated with disease development. Groups at highest risk include African Americans over age 40, individuals over age 60, and those with a family history of the disease. Glaucoma is a driving factor in the annual cost of vision impairment projected to reach $717 billion in inflation-adjusted dollars by year 2050.
The National Eye Institute (NEI) within the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has a long history of funding glaucoma research, ranging from determining the genetic basis of the disease to development of effective drug and device therapies to diagnose and treat the disease.
The first World Glaucoma Day was held on March 6, 2008, and the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 981, which recognized the event and supported the NEI’s efforts to research the causes of and treatments for glaucoma. That day has expanded into a full week of educational events held worldwide.
The Alliance for Eye and Vision Research (AEVR), a 501(c)3 non-profit foundation, educates about the value of federally funded vision research through its sustained effort Research Saving Sight, Restoring Vision Initiative. Visit AEVR’s Web site at www.eyeresearch.org
