APR 26, 2013
By Rahul Khurana, MD
Retina/Vitreous
This study confirmed that two genes previously implicated in the development of proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR) are indeed significantly associated with the disease in Europeans undergoing retinal detachment surgery. Single nucleotide polymorphisms in the genes SMAD7 and TNF-α were linked to the development of PVR. The TNF-α association is exciting since there are approved drugs that block this inflammatory cytokine.
The authors conducted a candidate gene association study of 450 patients in a Spanish population undergoing retinal detachment surgery. The results demonstrated a significant association of four genes with PVR: SMAD7 (P = 0.004), PIK3CG (P = 0.009), TNF locus (P = 0.0005) and TNFR2 (P = 0.019).
Replication was carried out in 546 new patients undergoing retinal detachment surgery at several European centers. Replication was observed in SMAD7 (P = 0.047) and the TNF locus (P = 0.044).
The authors say that these results may further understanding of the molecular basis of PVR and could potentially guide the development of new strategies for the prevention or treatment of PVR.