Viewpoint: Are IOP Fluctuations Important in Glaucoma?
Although intraocular pressure (IOP) has been viewed historically as the most important risk factor in the development of glaucomatous optic neuropathy, it is only more recent randomized trials that have definitively shown that IOP is a modifiable risk factor linked to progressive visual loss. Precisely how elevated IOP causes optic nerve damage remains unclear, and whether elevated IOP alone is more important than the amount of IOP fluctuation has been a point of contention.