Although a myopia susceptibility gene has not yet been elucidated, ten candidate regions (MYP1-MYP10) have been associated with myopia by linkage analysis employing large pedigrees. We report herein on the results of our analysis pertaining to polymorphisms of LAMA1 (alpha subunit of laminin), a promising candidate gene for high myopia present in the MYP2 region of Japanese subjects with high m...

Background: Military service requires physical fitness, including vision within set standards. Premature attrition inflicts a considerable manpower and fiscal burden upon the military. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort survival analysis of newly enlisted military personnel who entered active duty with a medical waiver for myopia between January 1, 1999, and December 31, 2001. Prematu...

PURPOSE EGR1 (OMIM 128990) is an early growth response gene that has been shown to be related to myopia by upregulation and down-regulation of axial eye growth in experimentally induced chicken myopia and knockout mice. The purpose of this study was to test whether variations in the human EGR1 gene are related to high myopia. METHODS Genomic DNA was prepared from leukocytes of peripheral bloo...

This study outlines a new theory linking industry structure to optimal employment contracts and executive short-termism. Firms hire their executives using optimal contracts derived within a competitive labour market. To motivate effort firms must use some variable remuneration. Such remuneration introduces a myopia problem: an executive would wish to inflate early expected earnings at some risk...

Myopia is the most common human eye disorder. With its increasing prevalence and earlier age-of-onset in recent birth cohorts, myopia now affects almost 33% of adults in the United States, and epidemic proportions of 85% to 90% adults in Asian cities. Unlike children in Western populations, where the prevalence of myopia is very low (less than 5%), Asian children have prevalences as high as 29%...

PURPOSE A previous study has reported evidence of a strong linkage, but no association, between paired box gene 6 (PAX6) and myopia. We attempted to replicate these findings and to conduct a candidate gene and locus evaluation of genetic involvement in common forms of myopia. METHODS Samples were collected from 517 individuals in 123 families with a myopic child participating in the Orinda Lo...

PURPOSE. Relative peripheral hyperopia has been associated with central myopia. This study was conducted to determine whether baseline relative peripheral hyperopia is associated with an increased risk of developing myopia or myopia progression in young Singapore Chinese children. METHODS. One hundred eighty-seven children who participated in the Peripheral Refraction in Preschool Children (PRE...

PURPOSE Divergence insufficiency is generally regarded as a neurological event. While high myopia is not a well-known cause of divergence insufficiency, we frequently encounter divergence insufficiency in high-myopia patients. Thus, the purpose of this study was to report detailed information on such cases and examine mechanisms that might potentially be responsible for this disorder. METHODS...

PURPOSE Myopia (shortsightedness) is one of the most common ocular conditions worldwide and results in blurred distance vision. It is a complex trait influenced by both genetic and environmental factors. We have previously reported linkage of myopia to a 13.01 cM region of chromosome 2q37 in three large multigenerational Australian families that initially overlapped with the known myopia locus,...

IT IS generally agreed that simple myopia and degenerative myopia are separate conditions, the former being a normal chance variant in the biological series which includes emmetropia and hypermetropia (Duke-Elder, 1949) and the latter a pathological condition. Degenerative myopia in its advanced stage consists of an association of defects: a highly myopic refraction, chorio-retinal degeneration...