Cholesterol Drugs Reduce Glaucoma Risk

Cholesterol-lowering drugs notonly help lower the risk of age-relatedmacular degeneration,but they also reduce the risk ofglaucoma, according to the resultsof a study reported in theArchives of Ophthalmology. Theresearchers found that men overage 50 with glaucoma had a dramaticreduction in risk when cholesterol-fighting medications hadbeen used over a long period oftime, compared with participantswho had not been diagnosed.

Specifically, the drugs werefound to reduce the occurrenceof open-angle glaucoma, inwhich the eye's drainage canalsbecome clogged and pressurebuilds in the eyeball, causingdamage to the optic nerve. Theresearchers pointed out that allforms of cholesterol-loweringdrugs, including statins, seemedto lower the incidence of openangleglaucoma.