PhD defence Antoni Vallbona Garcia

Keywords: Glaucoma, Mitochondria, Cellular Energy, Biomarkers

"Exploring Mitochondrial Dysfunction in
Glaucoma Using Blood Biomarkers"

This thesis investigates whether mitochondrial dysfunction, meaning a failure in the "power plants" of our cells, is a risk factor in the development of glaucoma, an optic neurodegenerative disease that is a leading cause of irreversible blindness in the world. While standard treatments focus on lowering eye pressure, the main disease risk factor, many patients still lose vision, suggesting other biological factors are at play. Because the nerve cells responsible for bringing visual information from the eye to the brain, the retina ganglion cells, require high amounts of energy, this research explored whether suboptimal energy production makes these cells more vulnerable to degenerate. Using blood samples, the research in this thesis tried to identify and link specific biological markers of mitochondrial defects in glaucoma patients to the disease risk. The findings suggest possible mitochondrial impairments as a risk factor in the disease, detectable in blood, and explores current supplements aiming to enhance the energy metabolic health as a complementary therapy in glaucoma. 

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