Hindawi Journal of Ophthalmology Volume 2018, Article ID 5926906, 11 pages https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/5926906 Review Article Molecular Genetics of Pigment Dispersion Syndrome and Pigmentary Glaucoma: New Insights into Mechanisms Adrian A. Lahola-Chomiak and Michael A. Walter Department of Medical Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Alberta, 8-32 Medical Science Building, Edmonton, AB, Canada Correspondence should be addressed to Adrian A. Lahola-Chomiak;
[email protected] Received 15 December 2017; Accepted 22 February 2018; Published 26 March 2018 Academic Editor: Lev Prasov Copyright © 2018 Adrian A. Lahola-Chomiak and Michael A. Walter. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. We explore the ideas and advances surrounding the genetic basis of pigment dispersion syndrome (PDS) and pigmentary glaucoma (PG). As PG is the leading cause of nontraumatic blindness in young adults and current tailored interventions have proven ineffective, a better understanding of the underlying causes of PDS, PG, and their relationship is essential. Despite PDS being a subclinical disease, a large proportion of patients progress to PG with associated vision loss. Decades of research have supported a genetic component both for PDS and conversion to PG. We review the body of evidence supporting a genetic basis in humans and animal models and reevaluate classical mechanisms of PDS/PG considering this new evidence. 1. Introduction segment, first described in 1899 [1]. Pigment lost in this way can be visualized gonioscopicly as iris transillumination Pigment dispersion syndrome (PDS) is the shedding of defects which describe depigmented zones that abnormally pigment from the posterior surface of the iris into the anterior allow light to pass through them [2].