Then, central vision gets blurry.

As time goes on and the blurriness gets worse, objects start to blend together until they’re almost impossible to distinguish clearly.

Then, everything goes dark.

This is life through the eyes of someone suffering from glaucoma, an optical disease that can lead to blindness if left untreated.

And the disease, which has no concrete symptoms, attacks African Americans more than any other group, with one in every 13 African Americans suffering from it.

 According to the Glaucoma Foundation, a non-profit organization that works to create public awareness of the disease, there are three million Americans currently diagnosed with glaucoma, and half of them are African American.

Dr. Lawrence Blum, an ophthalmologist at Jamaica Hospital in Jamaica, said that there is no known reason why glaucoma is more prominent in African American communities than in others.

The Glaucoma Foundation offers free information and news on its website, at www.glaucoma-foundation.org.

He said, “If I knew why that happens, I would get the Nobel prize. Doctors have known for years that African Americans get glaucoma more than others, and they can’t figure out why. A cure will come when we can figure that out.”

Dr. Rafeak Muhamad, also an ophthalmologist at Jamaica Hospital, estimated that 200,000 people suffer from glaucoma in Queens, with most patients coming from Southeast Queens.

 “There’s a large black population in Queens,” Muhamad said. “They suffer from it most. There are two theories on why. First, they have higher blood pressure, which puts them at higher risk. The other is that they have lower vascular pressure to the optic nerve. But no one is sure.”

According to the Glaucoma Foundation, African Americans between the ages of 45 and 65 are seven times more likely to get glaucoma than whites, and 14 to 17 times more likely to go blind from glaucoma than people of other races.

Still, going blind from glaucoma is rare, according to Blum.

“You don’t go blind from glaucoma overnight,” Blum said. “It’s a slow-moving process and disease. It’s rare that people go blind from it, but it does happen, especially if it’s not treated until its late stages.”

The causes of glaucoma are unknown, prompting Blum to say, “That’s another Nobel Prize question. It’s caused by increased pressure to the eye, but the reason why the pressure increases is not known. We know that glaucoma is hereditary. If there’s a family history, it’s easier to get it.” Muhamad added, “About one-third of cases can be attributed to heredity. Other cases are mysteries. There are clear risk factors, however. If someone is nearsighted, if they have diabetes, or if they have high blood pressure, they are more likely to get glaucoma.”

Blum explained that in the most common form of glaucoma - open angle glaucoma - the eye fills with a watery substance known as aqueous fluid because the fluid cannot pass through the eye’s trabecular meshwork or other drainage systems. The eye becomes “clogged,” causing a back-up of fluid in the eye. Peripheral vision becomes blurry first, causing “tunnel vision” according to Blum. He said, “Someone with glaucoma could walk into a room and walk right into a chair next to them because they can’t see to the side.”

Glaucoma has no symptoms, making it a “silent disease” according to Blum. “You can’t diagnose yourself with glaucoma,” Blum said. “It’s like diagnosing yourself with high blood pressure. If you start experiencing blurriness, meaning you’re having symptoms, it’s too late.”

In order to avoid developing glaucoma, all those over the age of 40 are encouraged get regular glaucoma screenings, which include checking the eye’s pressure, checking the appearance of the eye’s nerves in a visual field test, and checking vision. Blum said, “Vision is not really the issue with glaucoma. You can have twenty-twenty vision, and still get it. That’s why if you’re 60-years-old, you can’t just say, ‘Oh, I feel fine.’ You have to get it checked because you never know if you have it.”

Muhamad said that once a person is diagnosed with glaucoma, they are given eye drops or pills to correct their vision or keep their vision clear. If that doesn’t work, eye therapy is tried, and if that doesn’t work, laser surgery is needed to help drain the fluid from the eye. “That’s a last resort,” he said. “Usually, that’s not needed because we catch the disease early. However, screenings are necessary to do that. If we catch glaucoma after the peripheral vision is gone, it can take three to four months for the patient to go blind. It’s that quick. If there’s a family history, people should start getting checked at 30.”

Honoring A Black Researcher
Who Made A Difference

As part of its observation of Black History Month, the Glaucoma Research Foundation paid tribute to the leading African American researcher who helped create a leading treatment in the disease that affects African Americans more than any other ethnic group.

Dr. Percy Lavon Julian was born just before the turn of the century in Montgomery, Alabama, and accomplished amazing things before his death in 1975.

The grandson of a slave who endured more than his share of discrimination, he went on to become one of the most celebrated research chemists of the 20th century.

Julian was one of the first African Americans to be recognized by the National Academy of Sciences and one of a small handful of scientists (of any race) to be featured on a postage stamp.

He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from DePauw University, got his masters degree at Harvard and a Ph. D from the University of Vienna - in addition to 19 honorary degrees and 18 academic and civic citations.

These accomplishments were no small feat considering his humble beginnings.

When Julian was a young boy growing up in Montgomery, public education was not available to African Americans after the eighth grade.

In 1951, when the Julians were the first African American family to move into Oak Park, outside of Chicago, their home was firebombed.

He persevered and not only achieved academic greatness but went on to make major discoveries that led to drugs now used to treat such diseases as arthritis and cancer.

Julian was ahead of his time.

He often made use of natural ingredients such as soybean products.

He produced everything from medicines that heal the sick to fire retardant used in fire extinguishers.

His work has yielded over 100 patents.

At DePauw as a research associate he collaborated with another scientist and carried out the first total synthesis of the naturally occurring drug, physostigmine, a treatment for glaucoma.

CEO & President of the Glaucoma Research Foundation Patrick Hines, said, “Dr. Julian was a giant and a hero. He’s been gone for 25 years, yet his legacy is alive and is in the forefront of our fight against glaucoma. In his honor, we hope everyone will see their eye care professional and have a test for glaucoma. Our goal is to end glaucoma. We must do everything we can to make sure that everyone is proactive in protecting themselves from the loss of vision from a disease that can be detected and prevented.”