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...

AIM To determine the relation of refractive error to environmental factors, including close up work, in Singapore military conscripts. METHODS A cross sectional study was conducted on 429 Singapore military conscripts. Non-cycloplegic refraction and A-scan biometry were performed in both eyes. A detailed questionnaire was administered by in-person interview to obtain information about current...

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to determine if genetic variants in the hepatocyte growth factor receptor (MET) gene are associated with refractive error and ocular biometric measures in a Caucasian cohort. METHODS A case-control association study using 818 Caucasian adults (37.2% male, 62.8% female; average age: 51.21+/-17.17 years) was undertaken. All individuals were genotyped for 16...

This is a clinicopathological paper on the histologic findings in myopia-associated macular foveoschisis. The findings on ophthalmic pathological study of a 73-year-old woman with high myopia are reviewed. Multiple retinoschisis cavities involving both the macula and retinal periphery were disclosed. Our paper offers tissue evidence and supports recent ocular coherence tomography reports of eye...

PURPOSE The PAX6 gene, located at the reported myopia locus MYP7 on chromosome 11p13, was postulated to be associated with myopia development. This study investigated the association of PAX6 with high myopia in 379 high myopia patients and 349 controls. METHODS High myopia patients had refractive errors of -6.00 diopters or greater and axial length longer than 26 mm. Control subjects had refr...

Purpose To analyze the association between myopia and cognitive performance. Methods A cohort of the population-based Gutenberg Health Study included 3819 eligible enrollees between 40 and 79 years. We used the Tower of London (TOL) test to assess cognitive performance. Myopia was defined as a spherical equivalent (SE) ≤ -0.5 diopters (D) via noncycloplegic autorefractometry. We conducted lin...

Purpose We evaluated the impact of myopia on corneal biomechanical properties in primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) and nonglaucoma patients, and the effect of modification of glaucoma on myopic eyes. Methods This cross-sectional study included 66 POAG eyes (33 myopia, 33 nonmyopia) and 66 normal eyes (33 myopia, 33 nonmyopia). Seven corneal biomechanical parameters were measured by ultra-hig...

PURPOSE Myopia, or nearsightedness, is highly prevalent in Asian countries and is considered a serious public health issue globally. High-grade myopia can predispose individuals to myopic maculopathy, premature cataracts, retinal detachment, and glaucoma. A recent study implicated zinc finger protein 644 isoform 1 (ZNF644) variants with non-syndromic high-grade myopia in a Chinese-Asian populat...

PURPOSE Few population-based data support the hypothesis that refractive errors are associated with depressive symptoms. We aim to assess the impact of myopia on the risk of having depressive symptoms in a community-based cohort of elderly Chinese. METHODS A community-based cross-sectional study of 4611 Chinese adults aged 60 years or older was conducted. Depressive symptoms were measured usi...