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Grant Funded to Study Glucocorticoids, Ocular Hypertension and Glaucoma
The grant, "Glucocorticoids, ocular hypertension and glaucoma", has recently been funded for five years by the National Eye Institute. The year-one direct funding to the UI Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences will be in the neighborhood of $80,000. Investigators at the University of Iowa include Wallace L.M. Alward, MD, principal investigator at the UI, John Fingert, MD, PhD, and Edwin Stone, MD, PhD. This study is in concert with a study by Thomas Yorio, PhD, at the University of North Texas and Abbot Clark at Alcon Laboratories.
The study will examine the effects of Glucocorticoid Receptor Beta on steroid responsiveness. There is less Glucocorticoid Receptor Beta in the trabecular meshwork of glaucoma eyes than in normal eyes. This relative lack of Glucocorticoid Receptor Beta is felt to lead to steroid-induced ocular hypertension. Drs. Yorio and Clark will be studying many aspects of Glucocorticoid Receptor Beta in cell culture.
The role of Drs. Alward, Fingert, and Stone will be to obtain DNA of individuals who are responders and non-responders to corticosteroids. This DNA will be screened for variants in the glucocorticoid receptor gene and for potential variants in steroid-induced glaucoma genes. The UI group will also test primary open angle glaucoma patients for dermal hypersensitivity to corticosteroids.
