Researchers take first step towards genetic test for childhood short-sightedness

Researchers from the Universities of Cardiff and Bristol have devised a test that could in future help to identify children at risk of developing a very common eye condition. Short-sightedness, or myopia, usually develops during childhood and is thought to affect up to one in three people in the UK. The condition - which is increasing in prevalence worldwide - occurs when the eye grows too long, meaning light does not focus on the light-sensitive retina, causing distant objects to appear blurred. Myopia is easily detected with an eye test and corrected with use of glasses or contact lenses but, more worryingly, it increases the risk of eye disorders, such as glaucoma, cataracts and degenerative changes to the retina. Current treatments cannot halt its onset but can slow progression, meaning a genetic test could be key to early intervention. The researchers analysed genetic differences in more than 700,000 individuals, allowing them to come up with a score to predict an individual's genetic risk of myopia. Professor Jeremy Guggenheim, from Cardiff University's School of Optometry and Vision Sciences, who co-led the study, said their team could now identify one in 10 individuals who were six times more likely than average to develop severe short-sightedness by the time they reached adulthood.