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Open-angle glaucoma, idiopathic intracranial hypertension, and Meniere's disease are disorders managed by different specialties in medicine viz. ophthalmology, neurology, and otorhinolaryngology respectively. By working in silos, the similarity of these disorders is overlooked. Close inspection of these disorders reveals the presence of signs and symptoms triggered by fluid under high pressure within relatively closed chambers. There is a similarity in the capillary production of fluid, which then circulates and drains into the venous system. Management practices that reduce fluid production, decrease fluid pressure or enhance fluid drainage are employed for the treatment of all three disorders. A search for a unifying mechanism explaining the pathophysiology of all three disorders may unlock effective and perhaps curative measures for these disorders.
Department of Neurology, University of the Free State and Universitas Academic Hospital, Bloemfontein, South Africa. Electronic address: MoodleyAA@ufs.ac.za.
Full article9.4.15 Glaucoma in relation to systemic disease (Part of: 9 Clinical forms of glaucomas > 9.4 Glaucomas associated with other ocular and systemic disorders)