Friday, September 11, 2015
Research to Prevent Blindness-Funded Study Finds Possible New Target for Glaucoma Therapy
Scientists at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have elucidated a genetic interaction that may prove key to the development and progression of glaucoma, a blinding neurodegenerative disease that affects tens of millions of people worldwide and is a leading cause of irreversible blindness.
The findings, published in the September 10 online issue of Molecular Cell, suggest a new therapeutic target for treating the eye disease.
Primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) is the most common form of glaucoma, affecting more than 3 million Americans, primarily after the age of 50. Pressure inside the eye (known as intraocular pressure) and age are the leading risk factors for POAG, resulting in progressive degeneration of retinal ganglion cells, optic nerve damage and eventual vision loss...