The impact of disc hemorrhage studies on our understanding of glaucoma: a systematic review 50 years after the rediscovery of disc hemorrhage.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: To trace the influence of disc hemorrhage studies on our understanding of glaucoma.

SOURCES: Major articles published during the last 50 years since the rediscovery of disc hemorrhage were identified. A total of 196 articles were selected from 435 articles retrieved using the keywords glaucoma and disc hemorrhage as of August 9 2018 from PubMed.

RECENT FINDINGS: The main characteristics of disc hemorrhage, including its morphology, recurrence rate, duration, increased incidence in glaucoma, and role in the progression of normal tension glaucoma was well understood by the year 2000. Since then, studies have focused on more sophisticated and accurate methods of elucidating both structural and functional progression, with special attention to the role of the lamina cribrosa. Nevertheless, both the mechanism of disc hemorrhage development and its fuller relationship with glaucoma remain unclear. Disc hemorrhage research requires careful study of glaucomatous optic neuropathy. This has been facilitated by recent advances in optical coherence tomography (OCT) angiography and other OCT technologies. Furthermore, animal studies of disc hemorrhage promise new insights into glaucomatous optic neuropathy.