36th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Glaucoma Society (JGS)

36th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Glaucoma Society (JGS) is organized by Congress Inc., Japan Glaucoma Society (JGS) and will be held from Sep 12 - 14, 2025 at Kobe Portopia Hotel, Kobe, Hyogo, Japan.

Description:
The theme of this conference was "Towards an era when glaucoma can be cured." As you know, optic nerve damage caused by glaucoma is irreversible, and the basis of glaucoma treatment is to promote early detection and early treatment to prevent the disease from progressing. However, in today's world, where the average life expectancy of the nation is increasing and we are said to live to be 100 years old, the battle to protect the visual function of glaucoma patients throughout their lives is becoming increasingly tough. Despite the rapid progress in diagnosis and treatment of glaucoma, it has not been able to relinquish its position as the number one cause of blindness in Japan. This suggests that there may be a limit to suppressing progression through disease management alone. As the average life expectancy is expected to continue to increase in the future, it is hoped that treatment strategies to cure glaucoma will be strengthened. In fact, recent advances in regenerative medicine and gene therapy have made it possible to treat advanced optic neuropathy in the future. In addition, with the advances in genetic diagnosis, molecular epidemiology, and data science, not only early diagnosis and early treatment but also preemptive medical care to prevent the onset of glaucoma in the first place are now in sight. We may be standing right in front of the door to a new era in which glaucoma can be cured. On the other hand, even in the real world, primary angle-closure disease and some secondary glaucoma, which should be considered "curable glaucoma," are not necessarily curable. Therefore, at this conference, we will take a bird's-eye view of the current achievements and future prospects of "towards an era in which glaucoma can be cured," and also focus on low vision care and social support for glaucoma patients, which can be considered the counterpart of "curable glaucoma," and the issues that patients with visual impairment due to glaucoma face in achieving well-being and playing an active role in society.

In line with this conference theme, we have asked Dr. Shinya Yamanaka of the Foundation for iPS Cell Research at Kyoto University, who was awarded the Nobel Prize for pioneering the way to regenerative medicine using iPS cells, to give a special lecture. The invited lecture will be given by Dr. Tin Aung of the Singapore National Eye Centre, a leading expert on primary angle-closure disease, a type of glaucoma that can be cured. For the Suda Memorial Lecture, we have asked Dr. Kenji Kashiwagi of Yamanashi University, who is a leader in ophthalmic data science in Japan using big data and AI.

In addition to the themes mentioned above, we have also enriched the program with a symposium to consider the latest topics and issues in clinical practice and research in glaucoma, an educational seminar to update and learn new information on glaucoma treatment, which is evolving year by year, and seminars for young doctors and paramedicals. As a new initiative, we are also planning a session to consider team medical care, which is becoming increasingly important in today's ophthalmology, where specialization and fragmentation are progressing. Thanks to the efforts of the wonderful program committee members, we are completing an academic program that is full of learning and new discoveries not only for doctors and paramedicals who specialize in glaucoma, but also for doctors and medical professionals who do not necessarily specialize in glaucoma.