Glaucoma may be a brain disease, not just an eye disease. a 10-year MRI study puts that idea to the test.
NCT ID NCT07802769
First seen Sep 03, 2026 · Last updated Sep 04, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study follows people with glaucoma and healthy volunteers for 10 years, using brain MRI scans to compare how brain regions connect and how brain volume changes over time. The goal is to test whether glaucoma damages the entire central nervous system, not just the visual pathway. Researchers will compare scans between the two groups to look for differences in brain structure and connectivity.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) of the brain
- What this could lead to
- If this study succeeds, it could show that glaucoma is a whole-brain disease, not just an eye disease. That might open the door to treatments that protect the brain, not only the optic nerve.
- What could go wrong
- This is an observational imaging study, not a treatment trial. It will not test any drug or therapy. The results may show differences between groups, but they will not prove that glaucoma causes those brain changes.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 100 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Aug 2026
- Expected to finish
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May 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * having been previously included and completed the ENVOL study * Ability and willingness to provide informed consent * Having a valid health insurance in France In glaucoma group : * Glaucomatous optic neuropathy, being able to be graded by the vertical C/D ratio * Open angle on gonioscopy in a dark-room testing according to Shaffer's classification (grade 3 or grade 4) * Visual field impairement (at least one of the following) : * 3 adjacent points with at least 5dB loss * one point with a loss of 10dB * a difference of at least 10 dB for 2 adjacent points on either side of the horizontal meridian of the nasal visual field * Mini Mental State Score of at least 28 In control group : * No personal or family history of glaucoma or ocular hypertension (IOP \> 21 mmHg) * Open angle on gonioscopy in a dark-room testing according to Shaffer's classification (grade 3 or grade 4) * Intraocular pressure of ≤ 21 mmHg * Absence of glaucomatous neuropathy * Normal visual field Exclusion Criteria: * Inability/unwillingness to provide informed consent * Other causes of ocular hypertension (trauma, uveitis) * Non-glaucomatous optic neuropathy (infectious, inflammatory, compressive, ischemic) * Unreliable visual field (\>15% false positives, \>33% false negatives or \>20% loss of fixation) * Severe corneal pathology preventing access to fundus, visual field testing or altering ocular tonometry * Contraindications to MRI testing (pacemakers or neurosensory stimulators, cochlear implants, ferromagnetic foreign bodies, claustrophobia) * Patients under guardianship or other form of legal protection
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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CHU Bordeaux
RECRUITINGBordeaux, France
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