Scientists have discovered strands of genetic code linked to short sight, the most common eye disorder in the world.
The findings shed light on what goes awry to make distant objects look blurred, and raises the prospect of developing drugs to prevent the condition. Understanding the biological glitches behind short-sightedness could help researchers develop eye drops or tablets that could be given to children to stop their vision from failing as they get older.
Short-sightedness, or myopia, usually starts to manifest early on in life.
The extent to which genes are to blame varies, but for those with the worst vision, around 80 per cent of the condition is caused by genetic factors.
Two separate studies
Two separate studies, published in Nature Genetics journal, found variations in DNA that were more common in people with short sight. Chris Hammond, at King's College, London, found one section of DNA on chromosome 15 was more common in people with myopia. Caroline Klaver, at Erasmus Medical Centre in Rotterdam, found another strand, also on chromosome 15, linked to short sight. — © Guardian Newspapers Limited, 2010
