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American Glaucoma Society Annual Meeting
Thomas M. Brunner, the Glaucoma Research Foundation’s President and CEO, and Allen B. Poirson, PhD, Director of Scientific Programs and Licensing, attended the American Glaucoma Society meeting in San Diego (March, 2009). The conference set a record for attendance, indicating a strong organization with committed members.
A prestigious invited lecture provided insight on the pulse of the Society. Robert Weinreb, MD gave a keynote address outlining his perspective on “What’s Next?” He shared his views on the most important topics in future glaucoma research and treatment. These included:
- finding therapies to prevent retinal ganglion cell (RGC) death
- restoring the optic nerve such as the step-wise reprogramming retinal stem cells into RGCs
- developing predictive genetic testing to ascertain which patients would benefit from what form of treatment.
Several other presentations also advocated molecular and cellular approaches to understanding and treating glaucoma. A mini-symposium called “New Science Update” included talks on oxidative stress, optic nerve degeneration, optic nerve regeneration and discussed glaucoma as a neurodegenerative disease.
To see if these talks represent a developing shift in the AGS perspective on glaucoma research and treatment Dr. Poirson reviewed the 2003 American Glaucoma Society Meeting material from six years ago. He found very few presentations on these exciting topics – just one talk on neuroprotection and two talks utilizing genetics to identify genes involved with primary open angle glaucoma.
Neuroprotection, neuroregeneration and utilizing molecular and cellular techniques to study and stratify glaucoma are of growing interest to clinical practitioners — indicating that scientific advances on these fronts are accelerating and the Glaucoma Research Foundation can continue to help translate these discoveries into clinical practice.
Glaucoma Research Foundation co-founder and board member H. Dunbar Hoskins Jr., MD received the American Glaucoma Society President’s Award that recognizes an individual for their significant contributions to the glaucoma community.