Macrophage “clean-up crew” in the eye: a new lead against glaucoma

By Elodie Vaz | Published on March 13, 2026 | 3 min read  


Glaucoma is one of the leading causes of irreversible blindness worldwide. This condition encompasses a group of optic nerve disorders often associated with increased intraocular pressure. This pressure usually results from an imbalance between the production and drainage of aqueous humor, the fluid circulating inside the eye.  

Currently, management primarily relies on lowering this ocular pressure using eye drops, laser therapy, or surgery. However, these approaches do not always prevent disease progression. As Katy Liu, ophthalmologist at Duke University School of Medicine, stated in a press release: “The only way to treat glaucoma is to reduce eye pressure, and yet we still have patients who go blind despite current treatments.”  

New research published on March 9 in the journal Immunity provides new insight into the biological mechanisms involved in regulating this pressure, highlighting the unexpected role of specialized immune cells.