Mansour F. Armaly

GENETIC FACTORS RELATED TO GLAUCOMA

The anti-inflammatory glucocorticoids were Fhown to produce an increase in intraocular pressure when applied topically to the eye,13 or when administered sy~temically.~ This hypertensive response was similar to that appearing spontaneously in open angle glaucoma in that it was virtually symptomless and could reach clinically significant levels that lead to glaucomatous destruction of visual funct i ~ n . ~ . ~ In this presentation I shall briefly describe the characteristics of this response and summarize the results of a series of studies that demonstrated its genetic nature and its role in the determination of important ocular parameters such as ocular pressure and aqueous outflow facility, as well as disease states that include open angle glaucoma, post-traumatic glaucoma and diabetes.