Specialists find gene mutation for glaucoma

An eye specialist from Southampton is part of a team of international experts that has discovered a gene mutation that causes glaucoma.

Professor Andrew Lotery and fellow consultant ophthalmologists Alex MacLeod and Aby Jacob at Southampton General Hospital's eye unit and Dr Jane Gibson and Dr Sarah Ennis of the University of Southampton, along with colleagues around the world, have contributed to uncovering a new gene which may lead to earlier detection of glaucoma.

They point out that the mutation is common among Europeans, with some 6 per cent carrying two copies, putting them at 60 per cent greater risk of developing the disease than those who carry none.