Exciting directions in glaucoma.

Glaucoma is a complex, life-long disease that requires an individualized, multifaceted approach to treatment. Most patients will be started on topical ocular hypotensive eyedrop therapy, and over time multiple classes of drugs will be needed to control their intraocular pressure. The search for drugs with novel mechanisms of action, to treat those who do not achieve adequate intraocular pressure control with, or become refractory to, current therapeutics, is ongoing, as is the search for more efficient, targeted drug delivery methods. Gene-transfer and stem-cell applications for glaucoma therapeutics are moving forward. Advances in imaging technologies improve our understanding of glaucoma pathophysiology and enable more refined patient evaluation and monitoring, improving patient outcomes.