Glaucoma is an autoimmune disease
Glaucoma is one of the most serious diseases that affects millions of people around the world, but the pathogenesis of this disease is not completely clear. Once the only mechanism for the development of this disease was considered to be an increase in IOP. Current research indicates that the pathogenesis of glaucoma depends on several interacting mechanisms, which include: mechanical damage due to increased IOP, hypoxia, excitotoxicity, oxidative stress, and the involvement of autoimmune processes. Antibody changes in glaucoma patients have been described, but it is still unclear whether the autoantibodies observed in glaucoma are epiphenomenal or cause of the disease. Key words: glaucoma, glaucoma pathogenesis, autoimmunity, autoimmune glaucoma.