Research Updates

Since 2019, the Catalyst for a Cure scientists have been working together in search of innovative ways to replace, repair, and protect neuronal elements of the eye-to-brain connection that can be damaged by glaucoma.

Dr. Derek Welsbie’s patients know him as a skilled and compassionate glaucoma doctor. They may not know that he is also a dedicated researcher focused on restoring vision in glaucoma patients.

Neurodegeneration occurs when neurons — the building blocks of the central nervous system — deteriorate and die, eroding essential capabilities, such as vision or cognition.

Early onset glaucoma is the term often used to describe glaucoma that is diagnosed before the age of 40 years.

Consuming large amounts of daily caffeine may increase the risk of glaucoma more than three-fold for those with a genetic predisposition to higher eye pressure, according to an international multicenter study.

The Catalyst for a Cure Vision Restoration Team is exploring and developing novel strategies to protect, repair, and replace lost retinal nerve cells and help them reconnect with the visual brain.

New strategies are needed to rethink how we treat glaucoma to do more than just manage eye pressure — to actually restore vision by promoting the survival of retinal ganglion cells and their axons.

Therapies, treatments, and technologies—No two cases of glaucoma are alike, and the effectiveness of therapies differ but promising new research findings offer reason to be optimistic.

The Catalyst for a Cure researchers are a team of four principal investigators and their laboratories working together to restore vision and cure glaucoma.

Harvard Medical School scientists have successfully restored vision in mice by turning back the clock on aged eye cells in the retina to recapture youthful gene function.

“Seeing the Future: Longevity Research and Glaucoma” was the topic of the 2020 Weston Family Lecture presented virtually on October 27, 2020.

“Being part of Catalyst for a Cure has given me the opportunity to interact with patients, families, and donors, which has been inspiring and motivating.”

Dr. Ou summarizes recent advances in glaucoma research and highlights some of the most innovative and promising approaches to diagnosing glaucoma, curing glaucoma, and restoring vision.

With 33 companies presenting innovations and 380 attendees, New Horizons Forum provided a boost of energy and commitment to the future of glaucoma diagnosis and treatment.

There has been a remarkable expansion in understanding of the genetic underpinnings of the major forms of glaucoma. As research progresses, we hope to learn much more.

Dr. Pickering delivered the Weston Glaucoma Research Lecture, “A New Era for Glaucoma,” in Palo Alto, California on October 22, 2019.

For her research project “Eliminate to Protect,” Dr. Dorota Skowronska-Krawczyk from the University of California, San Diego was awarded the 2020 Shaffer Prize for Innovative Glaucoma Research.

This research progress report summarizes progress from the first year of the Catalyst for a Cure Vision Restoration Initiative, launched by Glaucoma Research Foundation in 2019.

Although lowering eye pressure can help slow or stop glaucoma progression, there are currently no therapies to regenerate lost nerve cells and help patients that have already lost vision.

Every day, glaucoma researchers work to better understand and find safer, more effective ways to treat this debilitating disease.

Dr. Di Polo’s laboratory investigated the hypothesis that insulin can improve the survival and function of injured retinal ganglion cells and may be viable as an innovative glaucoma treatment.

For the first time, thanks to improvements in how we measure the disease, researchers are studying and testing new therapeutic candidates for neuroprotection, neuroenhancement, and visual restoration.

Listen to the 2018 Weston Glaucoma Research Lecture delivered by Jeffrey Goldberg, MD, PhD, a principal investigator in the Catalyst for a Cure.

New approaches to treating, managing, and even curing glaucoma are essential to patients and caregivers. Researchers are actively working to advance the field in several key areas.

Research outcomes from past Shaffer Grant recipients demonstrate the impact of this funding in catalyzing the growth, sustainability, and productivity of glaucoma research laboratories across the US.