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PURPOSE: To describe the value and the results of screening of family members of individuals with familial chronic open-angle glaucoma (COAG) for the disease. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study of families with COAG. PARTICIPANTS: Eighty-six individuals from 15 families with COAG. TESTING: Complete ophthalmologicAL examinations, automated perimetry, and optic nerve photography. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Disease status as glaucoma patient (at least two of three parameters abnormal: intraocular pressure, visual field, or disc appearance), glaucoma suspect (one of three parameters abnormal), or normal. RESULTS: Twenty-six relatives were diagnosed with COAG. The diagnosis was most frequently made on the basis of intraocular pressure readings and automated perimetry. Twenty-three relatives were classified as glaucoma suspects; automated perimetry was the most useful modality for the detection of abnormalities in these individuals. Siblings of COAG patients had the highest risk of COAG developing (64.7%) compared with children (13.2%) or other blood relatives (22.2%). CONCLUSIONS: When COAG is present in more than one family member, immediate and other relatives should be evaluated for glaucoma by means of clinical examination and automated perimetry.
Dr. R.L. Nguyen, The Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center and the Wilmer Eye Institute, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
1.2 Population genetics (Part of: 1 General aspects)
1.6 Prevention and screening (Part of: 1 General aspects)