Dr. Kazuya Oikawa from University of Iowa Awarded $70,000 Knights Templar Eye Foundation Grant for Pediatric Glaucoma Research

Dr. Kazuya Oikawa from University of Iowa Institute for Vision Research, Iowa City, Iowa was awarded a $70,000 grant entitled: Neuroinflammation in Pediatric Glaucoma

Primary congenital glaucoma is an eye disease that affects babies and young children. In this severe form of glaucoma, increased pressure inside the eye (intraocular pressure, or IOP) damages the visual sensing structures in the back of the eye, and can ultimately lead to permanent blindness in a significant number of patients.

However, the underlying mechanisms by which high IOP leads to vision loss patients with primary congenital glaucoma are not fully understood. Our previous studies found that the immune cell population in the optic nerve are activated soon after IOP becomes elevated. Prior research studies suggest that controlling this immune cell activity has the potential to protect the visual sensing tissues from irreversible damage by high IOP in adult animals. However, it remains unclear if this approach could also be applicable to younger patients. The goal of this project is to better understand the mechanisms involved in immune cell activation in the developing visual system in glaucoma. Dr. Oikawa will be using a well-characterized animal model that naturally develops primary congenital glaucoma early in life due to a mutation in a gene which also causes congenital glaucoma in humans. Dr. Oikawa will use cutting edge techniques to study how high IOP changes the activity of the immune cells in the developing and adult visual system in glaucoma at a single cell molecular level and tissue level. These experiments will help identify potential new targets for the development of effective treatments specifically tailored for pediatric glaucoma.