Advances in molecular genetics of glaucoma

Glaucoma is the most common cause of irreversible blindness worldwide.The major performances of glaucoma optic neuropathy are progressive loss of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs), specific visual field defect and optic atrophy induced by elevated intraocular pressure.Glaucoma primarily includes primary open angle glaucoma (POAG), chronic angle-closure glaucoma (CACG) and exfoliation glaucoma (XFG). Recent studies showed that genetic factor and environmental factor participate in the pathogenesis of glaucoma, and the contributions of genetic factor to glaucoma are widely concerned, and some disease-causing gene and their pathogenic mechanisms are sequentially announced.A comprehensive discussion of the advances in molecular genetics of glaucoma is included in this paper.