Blindness

Blindness can result from eye diseases, optic nerve diseases, optic chiasm diseases, or brain diseases affecting the visual pathways or occipital lobe. The supplied reviews also identify specific avoidable causes of blindness such as cataract, uncorrected refractive error, glaucoma, and trachoma. Some causes are preventable or treatable, while others lead to irreversible sight loss.

The biological basis of blindness depends on where the visual system is disrupted. In glaucoma, progressive loss of retinal ganglion cells leads to irreversible sight loss, and lowering intraocular pressure can slow vision loss. In trachoma, recurrent conjunctival infection and chronic inflammation can progress to cicatricial disease and trichiasis, eventually causing blindness.

Risk is increased by conditions that damage the eye, optic nerve, visual pathways, or occipital lobe. The reviews highlight ageing as a driver of the global burden of blindness and note that avoidable blindness is linked to cataract and uncorrected refractive error. For trachoma-related blindness, highest prevalence is reported in the poorest communities of low-income countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa.

Management is described at the level of rehabilitation and treatment of underlying causes. For glaucoma, standard approaches include lowering intraocular pressure with laser treatments, topical medications, and surgery. More broadly, many causes of blindness are preventable or treatable, and rehabilitation is part of the care landscape for established vision loss.