Lifestyle modifications for glaucoma with Yvonne Ou, MD

Yvonne Ou, MD, a professor of ophthalmology at the University of California San Francisco, spoke about lifestyle modifications for glaucoma at this year's Glaucoma 360 meeting. She took the audience through understanding the topic from preclinical data to human patient data.

Ou discussed several areas, including exercise, supplementation with nicotinamide, diet, and yoga. She explained that moderate aerobic exercise like walking, running, or cycling can help lower eye pressure, while high weight workouts may increase it, though the impact on glaucoma progression is unclear. Regarding yoga, she noted that inverted postures can temporarily elevate eye pressure, but that eye pressure returns to normal when the participant resumes an upright position. The breathing and meditation aspects can also be beneficial.

She also touched on nicotinamide, saying initial animal studies showed promise for neuroprotection, but there have been some cases of drug-induced liver toxicity with high doses. Major medical societies now recommend against high-dose nicotinamide outside of clinical trials, especially for those with liver disease.

When asked about her impressions of this conference, Ou shared that she felt this meeting, which combines the New Horizons Forum and Glaucoma 360 CME program, is valuable for bringing together experts, researchers, and industry to collaborate and advance the field. She was encouraged by the progress being made in vision restoration and neuroprotection, even though IOP lowering remains the only current treatment for glaucoma. She expressed hope that in the coming decades, neuroprotection and neuroenhancement approaches will come to fruition.