First potential drug targets for glaucoma

Using a high-throughput screening process, scientists have for the first time identified molecules with the potential to block the accumulation of a toxic eye protein. This protein called myocilin can lead to early onset of glaucoma. Researchers have implicated a mutant form of a protein a possible root cause of this increased eye pressure. This cascade of events can lead to early onset-glaucoma, which affects several million people from childhood to age 35. The study was published on Nov. 26, 2013, in the journal ACS Chemical Biology.