The Latest Biology News And Medical NewsBiology News 2Health News 2Biology News 3Health News 3
HOME >> BIOLOGY >> NEWS
Gene changes linked to increased eye pressure may have implications for glaucoma therapy

CHAPEL HILL University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill scientists have discovered that increased pressure within the eye alters a set of genes normally involved in preventing hardening of tissue.

Increased eye pressure often occurs in glaucoma, a blinding eye disease that affects about 70 million people worldwide, and the new findings may have implications for treating this disease. The study currently appears in the online October issue of the Journal of Cellular Physiology.

"Pressure is required in the eye to keep its shape, and this pressure is maintained in the front part of the eye by a fluid, the aqueous humor," said Dr. Teresa Borrs, the paper's senior author and professor of ophthalmology in UNC's School of Medicine. From 1997 to 2002, Borrs held a Research to Prevent Blindness Jules and Doris Stein Professorship Award.

The aqueous humor is created by the ciliary body, a tissue beneath the eye's iris. The fluid flows around the iris and out through the trabecular meshwork, or TM, a spongy tissue that provides resistance and maintains the pressure, Borrs said.

Often in glaucoma, the TM stops working and fluid builds up within the eye, causing pressure inside the eye to rise. When this happens, the optic nerve in the back of the eye can become squeezed. As this is the area that carries the visual signals from eye to brain, vision loss can occur, Borrs said.

In earlier studies, Borrs and her research group had shown that a greater outflow of fluid occurred when researchers artificially increased the pressure in human donor eyes.

"It was like the TM had a homeostatic counteracting mechanism that could sense an increase in pressure and open up a little bit, to help move the fluid out of the eye," said Borrs.

However, it was unclear how the TM achieved this pressure regulation. This study was aimed at measuring what genes were turned on or off in the TM after the pressu
'"/>

Contact: Leslie H. Lang
llang@med.unc.edu
919-843-9687
University of North Carolina School of Medicine
12-Aug-2004


Page: 1 2

Related biology news :

1. Adaptive changes in the genome may provide insight into the genetics of complex disease
2. Study finds plant enzyme function changes with location in cell
3. Protein controls acid in cells by direct detection of volume changes, study finds
4. Gene mutation causes progressive changes to cell structure in children with Progeria
5. Researchers develop blood test that can detect genetic changes in progressive breast cancer
6. Unexpected changes in Earths climate observed on the dark side of the moon
7. Small gene changes in some leukemia patients may explain varying responses to chemotherapy
8. Childrens eating patterns show striking changes in two decades
9. New method is first to mimic subtle genetic changes
10. Researchers identify the pattern of gene-expression changes for tuberculosis in a living host
11. Scientist works to interrupt early changes resulting in diabetic vision loss

Post Your Comments:
(Date:11/24/2009)...oors to understanding how sounds associated with N...mal or if they hear it at all. , The same type ... uses to detect flaws in the space shuttle,s behem...to peek inside the giant head of a whale. The scan...s of a whale,s hearing anatomy using a breakthroug...
(Date:11/24/2009)...ge of Medical Toxicology (ACMT) have signed an agr...ournal of Medical Toxicology (JMT), the official ...was previously published by the University of Penn...ology , an international, peer-reviewed journal, i...of medical toxicology. The quarterly journal focu...
(Date:11/24/2009)...09) New research on bacterial communities through...ictable temporal patterns, suggesting that scienti...itoring climate change in the polar regions. The s...he National Academy of Sciences Early Edition, sh...hifted synchronously over time, correlating with s...
Breaking Biology News(10 mins):Rocket science leads to new whale discovery 2Springer and the American College of Medical Toxicology to work together 2Researchers establish common seasonal pattern among bacterial communities in Arctic rivers 2Experts to Review Quality Improvement Programs to Prevent Preterm Birth 57668 1Experts to Review Quality Improvement Programs to Prevent Preterm Birth 57668 2Experts to Review Quality Improvement Programs to Prevent Preterm Birth 57668 3Ulcer Preventative May Raise Pneumonia Risks 57664 1Ulcer Preventative May Raise Pneumonia Risks 57664 2John J Young Jr Joins SRI Board of Directors 14149 1John J Young Jr Joins SRI Board of Directors 14149 2John J Young Jr Joins SRI Board of Directors 14149 3
(Date:11/24/2009)...GARYandBLENHEIM,Ontario,Nov.24/PRNewswire-FirstCal...ngtheassetsofHylandSeeds,adivisionofThompsonsLimit...urtherexpandDowAgroSciences,currentseedsbusinessas...M) in 2010 andDowAgroSciencesHerbicideTolerantTr...xpectedinthenearfuture. ,, "Thisacquisitionbrin...
(Date:11/24/2009)... Health care employment grew by 29...ly one to show consistent growth during the U.S. r... remain in trouble, and health systems are coming ..., instead of just administrators. , ...e employment continued growing in October despite ...
(Date:11/24/2009)...MATEO,Calif.,Nov.24/PRNewswire-FirstCall/--Neuroge...cusedondevelopingandcommercializingnovelpainmanage...sidentandChiefExecutiveOfficer,isscheduledtopresen...obeheldDecember1-2,2009atTheNewYorkPalaceHotelinNe...,ChiefFinancialOfficer,willbeavailabletorespondtoq...
(Date:11/24/2009)... The FBI recently approved the Prome...participating in or generating DNA records for the... Madison, WI USA (PRWEB) -- The FBI recently a...for use by laboratories participating in, or gener...em (NDIS). NDIS currently contains more than seven...
Breaking Biology Technology:Dow AgroSciences Canada Announces Agreement to Acquire Hyland Seeds 2Dow AgroSciences Canada Announces Agreement to Acquire Hyland Seeds 3The MedZilla Report for October 2009 - Health Care Employment Grows Again in October Even As Clinics, Specialty Centers Close 2The MedZilla Report for October 2009 - Health Care Employment Grows Again in October Even As Clinics, Specialty Centers Close 3The MedZilla Report for October 2009 - Health Care Employment Grows Again in October Even As Clinics, Specialty Centers Close 4NeurogesX to Present at Piper Jaffray Health Care Conference 2NeurogesX to Present at Piper Jaffray Health Care Conference 3NDIS Approval of Promega PowerPlex Kit Clears Path for More DNA Profiles to be Added to U.S. Database 2
Other News:
...popularity of coffee grows, a niche market for sha...on programs now exist to verify shade coffee is gr...re plants intact than farming for sun-favoring var...tsch's* paper, (University of Michigan, Ann Arbor)...
...sts have taken an important step toward creating a...the response of the immune system with unprecedent...erpes virus, scientists at the University of Roche...etic information that created a carefully crafted ...
...8, 2004) Bethesda, MD Concurrent with the nationa...ies about how the body controls appetite and food ...identified a close relationship between the gastro...ating food intake. The relationship is expressed i...
... international competition to design a new scienti...treme environments Antarctica - is launched this ...al Institute of British Architects (RIBA). Locate...ng ice shelf, the new complex will be self-suffici...
It's better in the shade 2Herpes tool allows researchers to customize Alzheimer's vaccine 2Herpes tool allows researchers to customize Alzheimer's vaccine 3Infusion of two peptides acts to accelerate appetite satisfaction 2Infusion of two peptides acts to accelerate appetite satisfaction 3Design competition for new Antarctic Research Station 2
...word and enjoying a range of activities and intere...ning a healthy brain in older age, but the reasons...t the University of Edinburgh are seeking to ident...unused brain cells, but are re-awakened in active ...
...ith their roots and later releasing it from their ...he climate. In fact, in vegetated ecosystems, plan...to the atmosphere, with plant roots controlling th... assume that roots are shallow -- usually within 6...
...ic the bodies own bone formation and deposition pr... bioactive characteristics onto otherwise bioinert... a bone-like apatite layer. This means that, when ...cult to distinguish the implant as a foreign objec...
...ists at the University of Texas Medical Branch at ... connection between the hepatitis C virus and live...to the one that links the human papilloma virus (H...er, according to Dr. Stanley M. Lemon, the senior ...
'Survival' genes hold key to healthy brains in babies and the elderly 2Climate models need deeper roots, scientists say 2Texas scientists discover how a hepatitis C protein promotes liver cancer 2