Molecular biology in ophthalmology. A review of principles and recent advances
N. G. Della
Wilmer Ophthalmological Institute, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Md., USA.
Molecular biology is a young scientific discipline that has already had a
profound impact on biomedical science, including basic and clinical eye
research. In the coming years, molecular advances will increasingly
influence aspects of diagnosis, prognosis, and therapy in clinical
ophthalmology. Our current understanding of ocular pathophysiology and
classification of eye disease will be advanced and challenged by new
discoveries in molecular biology. A knowledge of genotype can clarify
apparent phenotype. At the present time, diagnostic tests in ophthalmology
for both acquired and inherited diseases are being revolutionized by
molecular technology. The molecular genetics of ocular disease is currently
the subject of intense investigation using techniques of gene mapping and
isolation. Rapid progress in understanding the molecular basis of eye
diseases will advance the treatment of these conditions, including the
potential for gene therapy.
