In 2014, there still isn’t a cure for glaucoma but researchers in Chicago are one step closer. The research team at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine have discovered a molecular cause for this disease that robs more than 60 million people – many of them African American – of their vision.
According to the study published earlier this week in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, the team identified a chemical signaling pathway that regulates fluid drainage from the eye and helps maintain intraocular presssure (IOP).
The Northwestern University website reports:
“In glaucoma, pressure builds from poor drainage of fluid from the anterior chamber of the eye, destroying retinal ganglion cells and eventually the optic nerve. The eye becomes like a bathtub that can’t drain because the pipe is clogged. The clogged or defective vessel, known as Schlemm’s canal, is part of the lymphatic system that is essential for drainage in the eye.”
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Although mice were used as their initial test subjects, scientists believe their findings will be relevant for treating glaucoma in people. “The mouse model is so similar to what we see in patients with glaucoma,” said the study’s senior author Dr. Susan Quaggin, a Northwestern nephrologist, in a university news release.
“Now we can understand how raised pressure leads to the damage of the neurons in the optic nerve.”
For African Americans, this new development toward a cure is especially critical. Glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness in African Americans after cataracts. African Americans are 15 times more likely to be visually impaired from glaucoma than Caucasians. Studies show that African Americans are more geneticially at risk for developing glaucoma and the following risk factors can increase that risk:
Testing for glaucoma is specifically recommended for African Americans every one to two years beginning at age 35.
Dr. Quaggin and team are now working on developing eye drops that will trigger regrowth of the clogged Schlemms canal to ultimately cure glaucoma. “Just imagine if we could grow a bigger Schlemm’s canal in anybody with glaucoma to lower the pressure in the eye. That’s what we’re hoping for with this new eye drop.”
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