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National GlaucomaResearch Report

Research TeamFinds Genetic Clueto EmergencyGlaucomaCould Strengthen Understanding

of Angle-Closure Glaucoma

National Glaucoma Research is a program of the American Health Assistance Foundation22512 Gateway Center Drive, Clarksburg, MD 20871 301-948-3244 800-437-2423 www.ahaf.org

Better Health Through Research F a l l 2 0 1 1

Jackson Laboratory researchers and theircollaborators have reported their discovery of agene implicated in an acute and severe form ofglaucoma known as angle-closure glaucoma (ACG).

Most people with the more familiar open-angleglaucoma dont even know they have the diseaseuntil its detected in an eye exam. The conditiondevelops slowly and can usually be managed with

eye drops and laser surgery.But ACG can be another story: acute attacksof ACG are a medical emergency. Sudden,debilitating symptoms include severe eye pain,headache, blurred vision, nausea, and vomiting.Without prompt intervention to reduce pressure,very rapid loss of vision can occur.

ACG patients typically have eyes that are slightlysmaller than normal, with a lens that is large forthe size of the eye, and an abnormally short axial(front-to-back) length of the eye. The researchteam identified a mouse strain that has anatomicalfeatures similar to those seen in patients with ACG.

In these mice, they discovered that, dependingon genetic background, a particular mutatedgene (serine protease PRSS56) can cause variablereduction in axial length, ranging from modest tosevere. In addition, the researchers found that a

mutation in the same gene in humans can causesevere reduction of axial length in people who havesmall eyes and extreme farsightedness.

This is the first link between this gene and ACG,as well as eye development in infants. These mice

represent an important and much needed tool tostudy this disease.

P.1 Study Finds Genetic Clue to

Emergency Glaucoma

P.2 Risk Factors Associated with

Progression of Glaucoma Identified

P.3 Research Roundup

P.4 More Oxygen in Eyes of African Americans

May Help Explain Glaucoma Risk

P.4 A Retirement Plan that Gives Back

I n T h i s I s s u e

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Research Identifies Risk Factors Associatedwith Progression of Glaucoma

Elevated pressure inside the eye, cornea thinning,and visual field loss are all markers that glaucomamay progress, according to a report in the Mayissue ofArchives of Ophthalmology, one of theJAMA/Archives journals.

Carlos Gustavo V. De Moraes, M.D., from theNew York Eye and Ear Infirmary, and colleaguescollected data from patients who were enrolled inthe New York Glaucoma Progression Study andwho had at least eight visits for visual field loss.

Researchers found that glaucoma was more likelyto progress when peak intraocular pressure (IOP)was 18 mm Hg (millimeters of mercury) or higher.Other risk factors included thinning of the cornea,presence of disc hemorrhage (bleeding in the areawhere the optic nerve attaches to the retina), andatrophy in part of the eye.

Perhaps the most significant findings involved theeffect of IOP. Since this is a simple measurementto take in the clinical setting, the findings mayhelp clinicians decide how aggressively to treatspecific patients to slow the rate of glaucomaprogression, the authors write.

They also pointed to disc hemorrhage as an indirectsign of visual field loss that may already have occurred.They also stated erosion of the visual field as well ascornea thinning as predictors of glaucoma progression

To learn more about this and other glaucoma

research developments, please visit

www.ahaf.org/glaucoma for the latest news.

2 N G R R e p o r t F a l l 2 0 1 1

New Grants Awarded inthe Fight against GlaucomaChairmans Corner

Recently, National Glaucoma Research awarded10 new grants to scientists who are engaged in thefight against glaucoma. These grants support avariety of projects. Two of the main areas of focusare on early detection of glaucoma and furthering

our understanding of the role pressure in the brainplays in developing the disease.

This is exciting news, and I share this with youbecause you made this possible. Your donationsand support enable us to fund critical researchprojects that offer new ways to look at this sight-stealing disease and that in turn could offer potentialnew prevention and detection methods, as well astreatments andultimatelya cure.

In this issue of National Glaucoma Research Report,you can read about the direct impact your gift has,like the study led by NGR grantee Carla Siegfried,M.D., that may explain why African Americans havea higher glaucoma risk. You can also read about NGR

grantees Simon John, Ph.D., and Gareth Howell,Ph.D., who have made a groundbreaking geneticdiscovery that could help develop new treatmentsfor glaucoma.

But most of all, as you read your newsletter, I hopeyou are impressed by the achievements you havehelped make possible. We could not fund thiswork without you. Brian K. Regan, Ph.D.

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Researchers Find Eye Development

Error Causing Cataracts and Glaucoma

A team of researchers that includes NGR granteesSimon John, Ph.D., and Gareth Howell, Ph.D., hasdiscovered that changes to a stress-buffer gene called

TDRD7 promotes the development of both cataractsand glaucoma in mice and people. In mice with thisdisease, the lens doesnt develop properly, which causescataracts. Also the eyes drainage system becomesdamaged, which results in an increase in intraocularpressure that can lead to glaucoma later in life. Thisgroundbreaking discovery has introduced a newtarget for developing future treatments for glaucoma.

Women Who Are Obese May HaveLowered Risk of Developing Glaucoma,

Study Cautiously Concludes

A 10-year follow-up research study, involvingnearly 4,000 people from Rotterdam, Netherlands,concluded that women who were obesewitha high body mass index (BMI)have a slightlylower risk of developing open-angle glaucoma(OAG) than women who weigh less.

In particular, the researchers conclude there is a7% reduction in risk of developing OAG for eachunit increase in BMI in women. The reasons forthis are not known, and the researchers suggestedthere could be confounding factors that account forthis decrease. Nevertheless, they announced thattheir data are statistically significant and that theseresults confirm the findings of an earlier studycompleted by a separate team of researchers.

Study Offers First Look at Asian

Americans Glaucoma Risk

Little has been known about glaucoma risks for Asian

Americans until a National Eye Institute-fundedstudy published recently in the journal Ophthalmology.

The rate of narrow-angle glaucoma (NAG) washigher in Asian Americans than in any other racialgroup in the study and highest of all among Chineseand Vietnamese Americans. The risk of normal-tension glaucoma (NTG) was three to 10 times higherin Japanese Americans than other Asian ethnicitiesstudied, and nearly all of the Asian sub-groupswere at higher risk than non-Asian Americans.

The results have implications for patient care. Forexample, the inner eye angle anatomy of patients ofChinese or Vietnamese ancestry should be carefullyexamined, said Joshua Stein, M.D., Kellogg EyeInstitute, University of Michigan, who led the study.And since NTG wont be detected by simplymeasuring intraocular pressure (IOP), eye doctorsneed to assess the status of the optic nerve in patientswhose ethnicity makes them more susceptible to thistype of glaucoma, he added.

RESEARCH ROUNDUP

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