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Hereditary primary open angle glaucoma: case study of a Nigerian family


AE Omoti
E Ogbedo

Abstract

Objective: To present a case of hereditary primary open angle glaucoma in a Nigerian family.

Method: Six members of an Ibo family from Delta State, Nigeria were interviewed and examined by the authors. Information on age, gender, tribe, history of blindness, eye disease and other medical conditions was recorded. Visual acuity, slit lamp examination and gonioscopy, assessment of intraocular pressure using the pulsair non-contact tonometer and fundoscopy were carried out on the patients where indicated.

Results: The report of four generations of hereditary primary open angle glaucoma involving two males and two females is presented. At presentation, the patients were in the end stages of glaucoma with very poor vision—ranging from light perception to no light perception, high intraocular pressure of 31-48mmHg and cup disc ratio of 1.0 in both eyes at relatively young ages.

Conclusion: The mode of inheritance was most probably autosomal dominant. It is important to screen family members of patients with primary open angle glaucoma to reduce the problems that result from late presentation.

Nigerian Journal of Ophthalmology Vol. 13(2) 2005: 46-48

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eISSN: 2468-8363
print ISSN: 0189-9171