The search for new and better treatments and diagnostic tools for glaucoma is ongoing. Here, ophthalmologist Dr. Michael Chua discusses four new “groundbreaking” treatments for glaucoma that are currently undergoing testing for a wider audience.*

Negative-Pressure Goggles

Negative-pressure goggles, a device being developed by Equinox Ophthalmic, are designed to be worn over your eyes at night while you sleep. The goggles are connected to a pump, which connects to your computer. This can be programmed to create a “negative-pressure vacuum chamber” around your eyes.

The theory behind the goggles is that, by lowering the pressure surrounding your eyes, the pressure inside your eyes will also go down, in an effort to equalize the two pressures. In an August 2023 study, Chua says:

• 89.7% of the participants experienced a 20% decrease in intraocular pressure (IOP), while only 
• 3.4% of the eyes used for control purposes experienced the same reduction. 

After the three-month study, the only documented side effect of the goggles was some eyelid swelling. 

Sensimed Triggerfish

The Sensimed Triggerfish is a specialized contact lens with a built-in sensor that provides continuous monitoring of your IOP. Like continuous glucose monitors for diabetes, Chua explains, a continuous IOP monitor can provide your ophthalmologist with important data about the fluctuations in your IOP throughout the day and night, potentially improving your doctor’s treatment recommendations, and your condition management options at home.

The device doesn’t actually measure IOP directly, but rather detects changes in the curve of your cornea (the front surface of your eye) which fluctuates with changes in your IOP. More work needs to be done, Chua says, to ensure that the Triggerfish’s readings are “perfectly calibrated” for accuracy.

Neuroprotective Supplements

Dietary supplementation that can protect your optic nerve has been a popular focus of recent research, and a substance called nicotinamide is considered promising. Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) is a necessary enzyme for producing energy in our cells, but our bodies generate less of it as we age. 

According to Chua, supplementation with nicotinamide, also known as vitamin B3, can boost our natural stores of NAD, protect optic nerve cells, and help prevent glaucoma progression.

In a 2021 study, giving patients B3 and pyruvate supplements increased the participants’ visual field results. That study and others have been small, he says, but larger, long-term randomly-controlled trials are in progress, and should be completed within the next two years.

Neuroprotective Eye Drops

While there are a wide variety of eye drops available for treating glaucoma, they often:

• Need to be applied multiple times every day on a rigid schedule,
• Cause uncomfortable side effects, and
• Don’t always sufficiently lower IOP by themselves.

In seeking to develop more effective drops with fewer adverse effects, scientists are testing eye drops containing a drug called citicoline. In a 2020 study, Chua relates, 80 participants were either given citicoline drops or a placebo. The citicoline drops resulted in:

• Less vision loss, and 
• Less progressive thinning of the optic nerves.

While the results were significant, this was a small study, and further testing is necessary.

*Chua, Michael. (2024, March 15). 4 Groundbreaking New Treatments for Glaucoma [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtQn07eWibc 

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