The UCSF department of ophthalmology has been awarded a merit grant of $100,000 that will be used to support research into the causes, treatment and prevention of blinding diseases.

The grant, from Research to Prevent Blindness, will provide funds during the next 12 months to support UCSF ophthalmology research in glaucoma.

"Unrestricted funds such as this grant are especially valuable in our fight against blinding diseases because they allow us to put our efforts into the most promising areas of investigation," says Steven G. Kramer, chair of the UCSF department of ophthalmology.

Research by UCSF eye researchers recently led to the identification of a gene that may be involved in up to half of the estimated 3 to 4 million glaucoma cases in the US.

UCSF researchers Jon R. Polansky, associate professor of ophthalmology, and molecular biologist Thai D. Nguyen reported in May 1997 that the gene -- called TIGR, for "trabecular meshwork inducible glucocorticoid response protein"-- apparently is involved in producing a mutated protein that may clog the trabecular meshwork, a structure in the eye involved in draining excess fluid from inside the eye. This, in turn, results in increased pressure inside the eye and may lead to damage to the optic nerve and eventual blindness if untreated.

"Knowledge of how the TIGR gene operates can lead to early detection and treatment for glaucoma and also point ways to improve glaucoma drugs and procedures," Kramer says.

Research to Prevent Blindness (RPB) is the world's leading voluntary organization supporting eye research. To date, RPB grants to UCSF have totaled more than $2.3 million. Since its founding in 1960, RPB has channeled more than $144 million in grants to medical institutions in the US for research into blinding eye diseases.

By Rebecca Higbee

1st appeared 8/08/97