PHARMACOGENETICS AND GLAUCOMA THERAPEUTICS

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This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. It is well known that individuals show variable responses to drug treatments. For example, in patients taking drugs to treat glaucoma, some individuals have a good response with eye pressure lowering to a drug, while others show only a marginal response, and yet still others suffer adverse effects from the same drug. Such variable responses to drugs among patients are caused by a combination of biological mechanisms, environmental factors, and the genetic make up of the individual patient. The science behind pharmacogenetics is based on understanding the relationship between gene variations, called polymorphisms, and individual variations in drug response. These genetic polymorphisms may be potential markers for predicting drug response in an individual patient. The goal of Dr. Moroi's project is to determine whether genetic variations in the glaucoma drug target genes and related pathways account for the observed variation in eye pressure response to glaucoma drugs used to lower eye pressure in the treatment of glaucoma. In this study, Dr. Moroi will study the individual response to the glaucoma medications using a noninvasive procedure called fluorophotometry. This instrument can measure the eye's change in fluid production in response to glaucoma medications.