Researchers identify genetic variants that may predict glaucoma risk

An international study co-led by UCL has identified 133 genetic variants that could help predict the risk of developing glaucoma, the world's leading cause of incurable blindness. Other lead research institutions included King's College London, Moorfields Eye Hospital, Massachusetts Eye and Ear and Harvard Medical School. The findings, published , are a major advance in the fight to tackle the incurable, degenerative condition, which has virtually no symptoms in the early stages and affects 480,000 people in England and millions worldwide, and could pave the way for a genetic-based screening program.   "With this new knowledge, we are now more able to predict the risk of an individual developing glaucoma. The predictive genetic markers could be measured as early as birth, even though glaucoma develops later in adulthood," said co-author Mr Anthony Khawaja (UCL Institute of Ophthalmology and the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre at Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust). "These results help us to better understand the previously unknown mechanisms that cause this damaging disease. By understanding how glaucoma develops we can, in time, get ahead of the curve of the condition and support both those living with the disease and those who may develop it," he added. To better understand the development of glaucoma, scientists studied 140,000 people drawn from the UK Biobank and EPIC-Norfolk.