Structure-Function Agreement

When we started this work in 2007, it was, and to some extent still is, commonly believed that structural (anatomical) glaucomatous damage precedes functional (visual field) damage. In Hood and Kardon, we provided a convincing argument that this is not true; structural and functional damage proceed together. In particular, we proposed, and tested, a simple linear model relating structure to function. This novel and simple theoretical framework provided a basis for understanding a large number of previously published studies. A reviewer of one of our competitive RO1 renewals wrote in the summary statement: “The conceptual framework and structure-function linear model developed by the investigators, and now independently tested by numerous investigators, is innovative and has changed the focus of structure-function debate in glaucoma.”