The ocular hypotensive effect of pregnancy

Abstract

Background: Blindness ranked third (after cancer and heart disease) as people's major fear. Glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness in the world, according to the World Health Organization. Everyone is at risk for glaucoma from babies to senior citizens. Glaucoma is not curable, and vision lost cannot be regained. With medication and/or surgery, it is possible to halt further loss of vision. Unfortunately, approximately 10% of people with glaucoma who receive proper treatment still experience loss of vision. If glaucoma can be treated with simple hormones that change in pregnancy, it would of great pharmacological development and prevention of morbidity in the world. Aims and Objectives: Physiology of pregnancy is mainly concerned with maternal adaptations for the growing fetus. All the organ systems in the body undergo adjustments in pregnancy. The aim and objective of the present study are to determine if the changes in pregnancy effect the intraocular pressure (IOP) and to guide future investigation on the treatment of glaucoma. Materials and Methods: A longitudinal study was conducted on 100 pregnant women over 9 months. Their IOPs were measured with Goldmann applanation tonometer. Results: The mean IOPs (MIOP) in pregnant women in three trimesters of pregnancy were 16.4 ± 2.4 mmHg, 14.6 ± 2.2 mmHg, and 12.2 ± 1.6 mmHg, respectively. Conclusion: The IOP decreased during the three trimesters of pregnancy gradually. It concludes that pregnancy has an ocular hypotensive effect. Hence, if pregnancy has an effect to lower the IOP, more research needs to be done to use the reasons responsible for this in the treatment of glaucoma.