THE OPHTHALMIC JOURNAL
World Glaucoma Week runs from 9–15 March 2025 and all eye care professionals are urged to build community awareness of this potentially debilitating “sneak thief of sight”.
To help, we’ve worked closely with Glaucoma Australia and called on experts in the field to contribute a diverse array of articles for this special glaucoma issue.
We begin with a moving story about Abbie Madden, a young woman who hasn’t allowed her eye disease to get in the way of life. Born with glaucoma, Abbie was treated with trabeculectomies on both eyes before she was two weeks old, and since then has received ongoing ophthalmic care. With assistance and encouragement from family, friends, and teachers, she played every school sport possible and pursued a passion for dance. Now a professional performance artist, Abbie and her husband have a baby. And, as if that isn’t enough to juggle, when I interviewed her, they were moving house.
We continue the issue with a number of articles about how to help your patients hold on to their precious sight. Drs Daniel Liu and Brian Ang have presented the evidence for lifestyle changes such as diet, exercise, sleep, and stress management to slow or even prevent disease progression. We spoke to two optometrists and an ophthalmologist about their use of SightScore – the genetic test for glaucoma – to support decisions in monitoring and comanaging patients. And Associate Professor Simon Skalicky has explained how Eyeonic’s visual field software is now saving sight in developing countries where access to eye health is challenging.
Mental health is currently a hot topic in the media and in this issue, we have a fascinating, evidence-based article that explores how a glaucoma diagnosis can cause anxiety and depression. Fortunately, Glaucoma Australia is on hand to support your patients with counselling and advice – as you will read.
Thank you to the many contributors and supporters of this issue.
Enjoy!
MELANIE KELL EDITOR
In the spirit of reconciliation, mivision acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea, and community. We pay our respect to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today. As a bi-national publication, we acknowledge Māori as tangata whenua and Treaty of Waitangi partners in Aotearoa New Zealand.