Glaucoma and other eye diseases
Glaucoma and other eye diseases contribute to blindness in nearly 40 million people worldwide, including more than 1 million in the U.S. While effective treatments exist in many cases, particularly for those with cataracts, other diseases that cause blindness have no known cure.
Glaucoma is a group of major eye diseases that accounts for about 10 percent of all blindness and has no known cure. Glaucoma is generally associated with raised pressure within the eye, called intraocular pressure, which damages the optic nerve. It often has no symptoms, and experts estimate that up to half of the people affected by glaucoma don’t even know they have it. And while the risk and prevalence of glaucoma increases with age, one form of the disease — pediatric glaucoma — can strike children within the first year of life.
Eye disease research at The Jackson Laboratory
Scientists at The Jackson Laboratory are working to understand the genetic basis of eye diseases and to find cures. Research projects include investigations into the genetic influences on glaucoma risk and finding more effective treatments as well as identifying effective model systems for a variety of other eye diseases.
While most of today’s glaucoma diagnostics involve measuring intraocular pressure, Simon John views the technique as inadequate. It is damage to the ocular nerve, not the pressure itself, that causes blindness. He is working to identify the genetic influences on glaucoma risk and to find new targets for more effective treatment.
