Researchers Identify New Genes Contributing To Nearsightedness

Researchers from 13 countries, including Australia, recently conducted a study aimed at shedding light on the genetics behind myopia, or nearsightedness, the most common human eye disease in the world.

The study, published in Nature Genetecis, was joined by over 45,000 people of European and Asian origin. It found that 30% of western populations and up to 80% of Asian people suffer from myopia, one of the study’s authors, Winthrop Professor David Mackey, said.

The tests were led by the Consortium for Refractive Error and Myopia (CREAM), which identified 16 genetic loci influencing refractive error in people of European ancestry, half of which were the same as those found in Asians. Furthermore, eight additional associated loci were identified in a combined analysis.

The risk of having trouble seeing things that are far away was 10 times higher among individuals having the largest number of loci, Mackey noted.

The new loci are candidate genes which impact neurotransmission, ion transport, retinoic acid metabolism, extracellular matrix remodelling and eye development.

The study was joined by researchers from the University of Western Australia’s Raine Medical Research Foundation and three more Australian groups.

Chris Hammond, a professor at King’s College London and the study’s lead author, said that it has already been established that reading, lack of outdoor light and a higher education level are all factors that can lead to myopia, chiefly in people residing in urban areas. The degree at which these environmental factors impact the genes that were just identified is yet to be determined by CREAM, Hammond noted.