UC Davis ophthalmologists and other researchers around the country have found that pressure-lowering eye drops can delay or possibly prevent the onset of glaucoma in almost 50 percent of African-Americans at higher risk for developing the disease.

The findings are based on a study conducted at 22 clinical centers, in which UC Davis provided the largest group of participants and served as one of the centralized reading centers for testing in this $30 million study. The results were reported in the Archives of Ophthalmology.

"Our research confirmed that eye drops can play a significant role for people with elevated eye pressure by easing or even blocking the onset of glaucoma," said James D. Brandt, professor of ophthalmology at UC Davis School of Medicine and Medical Center, and one of the principal investigators in the study. "The results are particularly important for the African-American community because glaucoma is the leading cause of blindness, and as a group they are three times more likely than whites to develop the disease."