5 Key Takeaways

• 1

  Human donor retinas with glaucoma had significantly lower sphingomyelin labeling in surviving retinal ganglion cells than retinas without glaucoma.

• 2

  Acid sphingomyelinase expression was significantly higher in glaucomatous retinal ganglion cells, whereas neutral sphingomyelinase, SMS1, and SMS2 did not differ significantly.

• 3

  Total retinal ganglion cell ceramide levels did not differ significantly, but ceramide aggregates were more abundant in glaucomatous eyes.

• 4

  The authors propose that increased acid sphingomyelinase activity may drive sphingomyelin depletion and localized ceramide aggregation in glaucoma.

• 5

  The exploratory study was limited by a small donor sample, incomplete medical histories, and imbalanced causes of death, including sepsis.