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Normal tension glaucoma

Disease
Primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) is a condition where the majority of patients show an elevation of intraocular pressure (IOP) above the normal range at some time during the course of their disease.

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Primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) is a condition where the majority of patients show an elevation of intraocular pressure (IOP) above the normal range at some time during the course of their disease.

However, up to 30 per cent of cases do not have elevated IOP and these patients are said to have normal tension glaucoma (NTG). Reports suggest that this sub-group of POAG patients is older, with twice as many females as males affected, and often a hereditary trend is present. Some patients also have systemic anomalies such as Raynaud's phenomenon, migraine, vasospasm and nocturnal hypotension, which indicates that NTG, at least in some cases, has a significant vascular component to its aetiology.

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