Stellate Ganglion Block in Glaucoma

THE influence of emotional tone in congestive glaucoma suggests that the sympathetic nervous system may be the mediator whereby attacks of raised intra-ocular pressure are precipitated. The idea is not a new one and has suggested itself to many Jonnesco (1899) made wide claims for the effectivity of resection of the sympathetic in the neck in the management of glaucoma, but Linksz (1931) found that the intra-ocular pressure was more labile after cervical sympathectomy. Further research has not been devoted to the subject, but the recent discovery by Nickerson and Goodman (1945) of the sympatholytic drug, dibenamine, and of its hypotensive effect in glaucoma (Christiansen, Swan, and Gould, 1948) has led to a renewal of interest in the possible role of neurogenic factors in the aetiology of this disease.