Abstract
Aging is associated with the onset of ophthalmic disease on the one hand and cognitive decline or even the appearance of dementia on the other. Senile cataract, age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy are the main causes of visual impairment in the elderly in industrialized countries. It is established that the cognitive state of the elderly is closely linked to sensory functions such as hearing and vision. In addition, several studies highlighted the link between the evolution of brain volumes and cognitive decline in the elderly.To our knowledge, no study has evaluated the association between vision loss and brain volumes in the elderly. Our study shows a thinning of the insular cortex in elderly individuals with vision loss.The brain and the eye share many characteristics, including embryological origin, astroglia, and microvascularization. Therefore, the eye may provide an easily accessible window into brain processes. Glaucoma, a neurodegenerative disease of the optic nerve, may share some pathophysiological processes with Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia according to the literature. Population-based studies evaluating the association between primary open-angle glaucoma and dementia have had very variable results and the link between these 2 diseases of aging is still unclear.The aim of our research was to assess the association between glaucoma as well as IOP-lowering drops (proxy of the severity of the disease) and incident dementia. We did not find any association between glaucoma and incident dementia.