Marijuana and Ocular Conditions
Speaker Jean Hausheer. The endocannabinoid system strongly influences a wide variety of physiologic processes within the human body by targeting specific receptors in most organ systems, including the ocular system. Glaucoma is an optic neuropathy that has a wide variety of risk factors, but only one controllable factor: intraocular pressure. There is an ongoing scientific effort to investigate if targeting the ocular endocannabinoid system can effectively treat this and other blinding diseases affecting the human eye. Marijuana is a drug with numerous molecular components, some well characterized and others poorly studied, that has inconsistent effects on intraocular pressure. As things currently stand, there is a lack of scientific evidence that effectively demonstrates marijuana as a useful monotherapy or a superior treatment option to treat glaucoma, as compared to traditional treatment modalities like topical or oral medications, laser, or glaucoma surgery. As legalization of marijuana increases across the United States and other North American countries, it is paramount for physicians and the lay public, to understand the effects of marijuana and other endocannabinoids on the ocular system, and patient perceptions and concerns regarding treatment of eye disease with these substances.
Video link: https://vimeo.com/663412811/59f64f5e03
Speaker Details
Full Name
Jean Hausheer
Position
MD, FACS
Bio
Dr. Hausheer practices comprehensive cataract and refractive eye care in Lawton, Oklahoma with a predominantly native American, military, and rural patient base as a Clinical Professor Department of Ophthalmology, with the Dean McGee Eye Institute, affiliated with the University of Oklahoma. She also works as an Adjunct Clinical Professor of Rural Health with Oklahoma State University Family Medicine and Emergency Medicine residency programs in Lawton.
She obtained her medical degree from the University of Missouri Kansas City School of Medicine, and Internship and Ophthalmology residency training at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester Minnesota.