Dr. Grossman’s Blog

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A new breakthrough in genetics research has identified the strands of DNA that can responsible for the development of open angle glaucoma.

Australian scientists publishing in Nature Genetics have found two new genetic mutations that can be linked to increased glaucoma risk.  Though the mutation of the gene myocilin is present in only 3% of those who develop the disease, people with the mutation are 3 times more likely to have glaucoma than the general population.

Study authors indicate that this discovery could lead to better screening techniques and earlier detection of the disease often known as the “silent thief” since it progresses and destroys vision without one’s knowledge. Often, when one realizes their sight has been negatively affected by glaucoma the disease is significantly advanced.

Source: ABC Science

Image via nnlm.gov

A recent article in the British Journal of Ophthalmology highlights the ways that gene therapies have great potential for helping individuals with eye diseases including retinitis pigmentosa,  Stargardt’s disease,  age-related macular degeneration, uveitis and glaucoma.

The eye is an ideal candidate for trials involving gene therapy because it is easily accessible, highly compartmentalised and immune-privileged (even when an antigen is introduced to the eye it will not trigger and inflammatory immune system response).

For further information on how gene therapies are impacting approaches to various eye conditions, please visit our research pages.

Image via www.nsf.gov

Do brains and eyes work differently in various parts of the world?

A team of scientists has discovered that the eyes of Chinese and British people move differently.  Recognizing that Chinese people exhibit a specific eye movement that is rare in British people shows that different populations could have different brain mechanisms.  It was thought that a particular eye movement was a mark of brain injuries when the research sample was based on a largely European population.  This study shows that this eye movement was in fact common in 30% of the Chinese people studied.  These findings, published in the journal Experimental Brain Research, will keep physicians from misdiagnosing brain injuries now that it is know that certain eye movements, called saccades, are actually normal in certain populations.

According to Dr. Paul Knox, “There could be a number of explanations for this and further investigation is needed to fully understand why populations differ. It could be that culture – where we grow up, the education, work and social activities we are exposed to – influence these particular biological responses even though our physical make-up is the same…. The other possibility is that there are basic differences in brain structure and function that produce the kind of behaviour we identified. Maps of the brain were developed many years ago and were largely based on European populations. This became the blueprint for brain structure, but there could be differences between various populations.”

Source: Medical News Today

image via health.nih.go

One risk factor for glaucoma is central corneal thickness.

Researchers looking at ethnic populations in Singapore have identified the genes that affect collagen growth, which in turn affects central corneal thickness.  Knowing how these specific genes work can help provide insight into the cause and progression of glaucoma.

Source: http://hmg.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2010/11/23/hmg.ddq511.abstract

Learn more about how to prevent and treat glaucoma naturally at our website.

Image courtesy of bio.sandia.gov

Researchers have made a new breakthrough that helps them better understand how genes work to aid the development of the eyes and brain.

They found that the gene Six3 acts as gatekeeper that protects the eye from potentially disruptive signaling proteins as the eye forms in utero.

The eyes, and the retinas specifically, are incredibly complex structures and scientists appreciate the intricately choreographed dance of the genes as they turn on and off at exactly the right times to make proper physical and mental development possible.

But why should we care about another genetic discovery in a lab like the one at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, which ran this study?

Medical News today, the source of this story, spoke to senior study author Guillermo Oliver, Ph.D who said, “realizing the potential of stem cells or other cell-based replacement therapies to correct vision or treat blindness requires a more detailed understanding of the genes and molecular mechanisms involved in normal retinal development.”

In other words, if we want future therapies to help recreate cells to help heal conditions such as macular degeneration of glaucoma, we need to understand how the eyes come together in the first place.

Study: Journal of Clinical Investigation

Image by Elsie esq.

Researchers in Australia are working to unravel the genetic code of two related eye conditions: glaucoma and myopia.

Teams across the world have been building upon one another’s work to pinpoint the Caveolin that is thought to be responsible for glaucoma.  These same researchers are also working with the results of studies in Europe that show the genes GJD2 and RASGRF1 to be related to the development of myopia.

Both of these discoveries rely on using Twins Eye Study to corroborate the researchers findings.  Twins studies are essential to genetics twins share nearly 100% of their genetic polymorphisms and can help scientists determine whether conditions are causes by inherited or genetic factors.

Source: http://www.news.uwa.edu.au/201009152874/international/genetic-discovery-offers-new-hope-eye-diseases

For more on how to prevent and treat myopia visit this site.

If you are interested in the prevention and treatment of glaucoma, have a look at this information.