Academy Awards $50,000 Lewis Rudin Glaucoma Prize to Researcher For Linking Inflammation-Triggering Molecule to Onset of Glaucoma

NEW YORK CITY, October 24 — The New York Academy of Medicine has awarded the 2007 Lewis Rudin Glaucoma Prize to John Danias, MD, PhD, of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine for his research implicating increased production of an inflammation-triggering molecule in the onset of glaucoma, the second leading cause of blindness in the world. The findings potentially open doors for treating this and other neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

Danias, an Associate Professor in Mount Sinai’s Department of Ophthalmology and Neuroscience, was the principal investigator on experimental work linking glaucoma to increased production of the C1q molecule, which is involved in inflammation and initiation of immune responses. Danias and colleagues found that C1q increases in the retina of glaucomatous mice, monkeys, and some humans a short period before nerve damage begins. C1q plays a role in activating Complement, an ancient immune mechanism that leads to inflammatory reactions. In the eye, inflammation can damage the retina, the thin film of nerve tissue that lines the eye’s inside wall and is integral to vision.

The $50,000 award from the Academy recognizes the most significant scholarly article on glaucoma published in a peer-reviewed journal in the prior calendar year. Recipients are nominated by their peers, and a winner is chosen by the Academy’s Lewis Rudin Prize Selection Committee and approved by the Academy Board of Trustees.

"The article not only represents science done at the highest level but makes an observation never previously studied....or imagined,” said David Abramson, MD, Chairman of the Academy’s Lewis Rudin Prize Committee and Chief of Ophthalmic Oncology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. “For the first time it opens the door to an entirely new understanding of glaucoma and other diseases and I predict that it will be the catalyst that may transform the approach to managing this potentially blinding disease."

Glaucoma is a group of diseases that can lead to damage to the eye's optic nerve and result in blindness if not diagnosed early and treated. An estimated three million Americans have glaucoma, not all of whom know it. Worldwide, almost 70 million are affected by the disease, and 6.7 million people are blind from glaucoma. Those at highest risk for glaucoma are African-Americans, relatives of those with glaucoma, those over age 50 (over 35 if African-American), the very nearsighted, and diabetics.

Until recently, Danias said, glaucoma was thought to be caused entirely by higher-than-normal pressure in the eye that directly compressed the axons or the capillaries of the optic nerve, causing damage. This new work builds upon other recent findings and provides evidence of the existence of a molecular trigger as well.

“These results have potential implications for the treatment of glaucoma and potentially other neurodegenerative disease,” Danias said. “Understanding the role of complement in neuro-inflammation will provide us with new therapeutic targets and strategies.”

Entitled “Complement Component 1Q (C1Q) Upregulation in Retina of Murine, Primate, and Human Glaucomatous Eyes,” the article appeared in the March 2006 issue of Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science. Danias was the principal investigator on the winning study. Co-authors were Kalliopi Stasi, Dalia Nagel, Xiaoyan Yang, RonFang Wang, Lizhen Ren, Steven M Podos, and Thomas Mittag. All are affliliated with the Mount Sinai School of Medicine Department of Ophthalmology with the exception of Dr. Stasi, who is with the University of Rochester.

The Lewis Rudin Glaucoma Prize of The New York Academy of Medicine was established in 1995 in honor of Lewis Rudin, the late New York City real estate developer and founder of the Association for a Better New York. The prize is funded by the May and Samuel Rudin Family Foundation, Inc., with additional support from Jack Rudin, Chairman of the Rudin Management Company. The Rudin Family has a long tradition of service and philanthropy in New York City.

Founded in 1847, The New York Academy of Medicine is an independent, non-partisan, non-profit institution whose mission is to enhance the health of the public. Our research, education, community engagement, and evidence-based advocacy seek to improve the health of people living in cities, especially disadvantaged and vulnerable populations. The impact of these initiatives reaches into neighborhoods in New York City, across the country, and around the world. We work with community based organizations, academic institutions, corporations, the media, and government to catalyze and contribute to changes that promote health. Visit us online at www.nyam.org

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Posted on October 25, 2007

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