News and Events

NEI Statement

Glaucoma Gene Identified

National Eye Institute
National Institutes of Health

National Eye Institute grantees at the University of Iowa College of Medicine have identified a gene associated with primary open-angle glaucoma. About three million Americans have this form of glaucoma, which is one of the leading causes of blindness in the United States.

This may be one of the most significant findings in years resulting from National Eye Institute-supported research. In fact, it may be the first major breakthrough in the National Institute of Health's intense research effort to find the cause and eventually develop a cure for glaucoma.

We all await confirmation of this finding through other scientific studies conducted and supported by the National Eye Institute. Because glaucoma is a complex disease, several genes may be involved in its development. Whether this finding relates primarily to juvenile glaucoma, or whether this is the primary gene involved in the adult form of primary open-angle glaucoma remains to be seen. Nevertheless, this is the first time that a specific genetic defect has been identified in people with glaucoma, and, in that sense, this finding has a great deal of significance.

May 1998