Researchers report the discovery of a gene– EPHA2 — linked to progressive cortical cataracts in a paper published online in the Public Library of Science Genetics journal.

Using the participants in the Beaver Dam Eye Study, the researchers performed genetic analyses and found that a mutant version of EPHA2 was present in family who developed cortical cataracts with aging. A similar association was noted in British families and in family in the Blue Mountains region of Australia.

A mutant gene that leads to the development of cataracts was developed in mice at Case Western Reserve University. Researchers suggest that this may allow researchers to understand how cataracts form and possible determine ways to manipulate this development.

Read the article here ^[1].