Waging War Against Glaucoma and Winning

Stanley Richards received an “unnerving” diagnosis from his ophthalmologist in 1994 during a routine eye examination at Mass. Eye and Ear: The intraocular pressure (IOP) in his eyes had reached an undesirable level which led to the development of exfoliation glaucoma, a condition characterized by dandruff-like material that accumulates in the front of the eye and raises the IOP. Treatments are available, but there is no cure. 

“We don’t understand what causes the exfoliation to develop in the first place,” explained Louis Pasquale, M.D., who is co-director of the Glaucoma Service. “In Mr. Richards’ case, we detected the disease before any overt structural damage occurred. His prognosis is excellent.” 

Glaucoma will ultimately lead to blindness in 2 percent of adults over age 40 in the United States. But Mr.Richards is lucky; he is winning the war against the disease. 

Since being diagnosed, Mr. Richards has made the 200-mile round trip from his home in New London, N.H., at least 50 times. His routine at Mass. Eye and Ear is always the same: a vision test and examinations to check the pressure. “I can say with certainty that I’d be blind or close to it without treatment,” said Mr. Richards, a retired vice president of Cabot Corporation. “The most important thing is having checkups. The sooner the disease is caught, the better off you’ll be.” 

Managing the disease isn’t an easy task. “It takes a lot of motivation on the patient’s part to keep up with the disease on a day-to-day basis,” said Dr. Pasquale. “The physician has an important role. Each patient comes to the plate with individual needs, concerns and lifestyle factors that have to be addressed. The patient and the physician are partners in this process.” 

Mr. Richards is clearly delighted with his partner. He described Dr. Pasquale as “a brilliant man with a work ethic unlike anything you’ve ever seen. He’s totally devoted to his work and is an exemplary physician.”

Mr. Richards believes wholeheartedly in the importance of funding glaucoma research. “It’s enormously critical.  If we can’t find a cause, we can’t put the disease to bed,” he said. “The doctors here are devoting their lives to their patients and their research. I can’t imagine a more deserving project.”

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