Glaucomagenesis following ionizing radiation exposure

Publication date: Available online 8 January 2019Source: Mutation Research/Reviews in Mutation ResearchAuthor(s): Nobuyuki Hamada, Tamara V. Azizova, Mark P. LittleAbstractGlaucoma is a group of optic neuropathies causing optic nerve damage and visual field defects, and is one of the leading causes of blindness. Nearly a century has passed since the first report of glaucoma manifested following ionizing radiation therapy of cancers. Nevertheless, associations between glaucoma and radiation exposures, a dose response relationship, and the mechanistic underpinnings remain incompletely understood. Here we review the current knowledge on manifestations and mechanisms of radiogenic glaucoma. There is some evidence that neovascular glaucoma is manifest relatively quickly, within a few years after high-dose and high dose-rate radiotherapeutic exposure, but little evidence of excess risks of glaucoma after exposure to much lower doses or dose rates. As such, glaucoma appears to have some of the characteristics of a tissue reaction effect, with a threshold of at least 5 Gy but possibly much higher.
Source: Mutation Research Reviews in Mutation Research - Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Source Type: research