vol2 - Page 67

 i_¸)
 whether a drug's bane?its outweigh its potential risks and the risks o? per=
 mitring the disease to progress,
 22, In the context of glaucon_ therapy_ _t must be kept in mind that
 glaucoma, untreated, progressively destroys the optic nerve and results in
 ..._._. eventual blindness_ The danger, then_ to patients with glaucoma is an
 irretrievable loss of their sight,
 23, Glaucoma _s not a mortal disease, but a highly specific, selectively
 incapacitating condition, Glaucoma assaults and destroys the patient's most
 evolved and critical sensory ability, his or her vision, The vast majority of
 patients afflicted with glaucoma are adults over the age of thirty, The onset
 _).. of blindness in middle age or later throws patients_ into a wholely allen world_
 They can no longer do the work they once did, They are° unable to read a
 newspaper, drive a car, shop, walk freely and do a1_I the myriad things sighted
 people take for granted, Without lengthy periods of retainlng, adaptation and '
 great effo_ these individuals often lose their se_sa of identity and ability to
 function. Those who are young enough or strong-willed enough will regain a
 sense of place, hold meaningful jobs, but many a_pects of the life they ante_
 took for granted cannot be recaptured, Other patients may never fully adjust _o
 thelr new, uncertain ci rcu_tances,
 , 24. Blindness is a very grave consequence° Protecting patients from
 blindness is considered _o impo_t_n_._th, at, for ophtholmologists generally,T, it
 justlfies_he_use o) _,o_c _e_c_es and u_r_in surgic_F procedures which in
 _) other contexts_m_gi_be considered _unsafe," In practice, physicians often
 provide .glaucoma patients _ith drugs which have _n_ serious adverse effects,
 25, There ar_ only a limited number of dr_gs available for the