The complex role of neuroinflammation in glaucoma

Glaucoma is a multifactorial neurodegenerative disorder affecting 80 million people world-wide. Loss of retinal ganglion cells and degeneration of their axons in the optic nerve are the major pathological hallmarks. Neuroinflammatory processes, inflammatory processes in the central nervous system, have been identified in human glaucoma and in experimental models of the disease. Furthermore, neuroinflammatory responses occur at early stages of experimental glaucoma, and inhibition of certain proinflammatory pathways appears neuroprotective. Here, we summarize the current understanding of neuroinflammation in the central nervous system, with emphasis on events at the optic nerve head during early stages of glaucoma.