Research Programs

• Amblyopia Treatment
• Evaluation of Keratoconus (CLEK)
• Convergence Insufficiency Treatment (CITT)
• Correction of Myopia (COMET)
• Correction of Myopia (COMET2)
• Myopia in COMET Children (COSMICC)
• IVI Research
• Molecular Mechanisms
• Ocular Hypertension Treatment Study (OHTS)
• Vision Screening in Preschoolers

Ocular Hypertension Treatment Study (OHTS)

Principal Investigator, G. Richard Bennett, OD
Study Coordinator, Lindsay Bennett
Funded by the National Eye Institute

Glaucoma: A disease of the eye characterized by increased intraocular pressure and excavation and atrophy of the optic nerve; produces defects in the visual field and may result in blindness.

The Eye Institute of the Pennsylvania College of Optometry has provided key research for a major long term study showing that eye drops used to treat elevated pressure inside the eye can be effective in delaying the onset of glaucoma.  These results mean that treating people at higher risk for developing glaucoma may delay, and possibly prevent, the disease. 

The principal investigator at PCO for the Ocular Hypertension Treatment Study (OATS) is Dr. G. Richard Bennett.  His participation in the study marked the first time an optometric research center was a principal investigator in an NEI medical study.

For his work in the study, Dr. Bennett was interviewed by several media outlets.  He appeared on WPHL TV 17, CN 8, and WXPN Healthcheck.  His research was recognized in the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Philadelphia Tribune, and the American Optometric Association News.  He was also interviewed by the Review of Optometry and Optometry and Vision Science, where articles about OATS are expected to be published.

The findings of the study are reported in the June 2002 issue of Archives of Ophthalmology.