Pseudoexfoliation syndrome and glaucoma. Does glaucoma capsulare exist?

Pseudoexfoliation syndrome (PES) is seen in patients with a characteristic deposition of material on the anterior preequatorial region of the lens and on a variety of surfaces throughout the anterior segments of the eye. A high frequency of associated glaucoma has also been reported. In spite of numerous clinical and histological investigations, the mechanisms for the glaucoma are unclear. In a series of 5154 patients referred to our hospital for cataract extraction we found a prevalence of 6.1% (n = 314). In 51 of these patients (16.2%) glaucoma was diagnosed in contrast to 33 patients (10.9%) in an age-matched control group. The prevalence of glaucoma in PES patients and the control group was not statistically different, so our findings in cataract patients do not support the interpretation that there is a clinical entity called "glaucoma capsulare."