Research News
Pfizer award will yield new understanding of congenital glaucoma
Pfizer Ophthalmics selected Ahsan Khan, MD, a fellow with the Glaucoma Service, to receive a Fellows Award for Excellence in Glaucoma Research. Khan received one of 10 awards made in the fall of 2004. Deepak Edward , MD , associate professor of ophthalmology and director of the Glaucoma Service, is Khan’s mentor on the project.
Khan’s Pfizer Fellowship will support his work on a study that uses powerful new microscopic technology to analyze the trabecular meshwork in order to better understand the structural defects that cause congenital glaucoma. The trabecular meshwork is a network of fibers that drains the watery fluid, or aqueous humor, from the chambers at the back and front of the eye. Glaucoma occurs when aqueous fluid fails to drain properly, creating an increase in the pressure of the fluid and progressive damage to the optic nerve, which transmits visual signals to the brain.
Congenital glaucoma occurs in babies and is usually diagnosed within the first year of life. It is a rare condition that may be inherited and is caused by incorrect or incomplete development of the eye’s drainage canals during the prenatal period. According to the Glaucoma Research Foundation, approximately 1 out of every 10,000 babies born in this country is born with glaucoma.
The new study will analyze and compare the structure of the trabecular meshwork in human adult and fetal eyes using a new technology called two-photon microscopy that permits nondestructive analysis of tissue. Two-photon microscopy allows researchers to visualize deep structures without damaging tissue samples by creating tissue sections optically, rather than slicing tissue sections for analysis. This approach is especially beneficial where tissue samples are limited or where traditional tissue sectioning may alter the extremely fine structures being analyzed.
The study, titled “ Comparative Ultrastructural Analysis of Human Fetal and Adult Trabecular Meshwork by Two-Photon Microscopy, ” is the first time two-photon microscopy will be used to analyze fetal eye tissue. The project will provide a clear conceptual understanding of the normal prenatal development of the anterior chamber angle, shedding needed light on the underlying structural problems in the trabecular meshwork in congenital glaucoma.
Kahn has an MD from the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine. He completed a residency in ophthalmology at Loyola University Medical Center and served as chief resident in 2003-04. He joined UIC as a Glaucoma Fellow in 2004.