OMICS: A Journal of Integrative Biology
May 2014, 18(5)
http://online.liebertpub.com/toc/omi/18/5

Glaucomics: A Call for Systems Diagnostics for 21st Century Ophthalmology and Personalized Visual Health
Online Ahead of Print: April 14, 2014
Full Text PDF (168.6 KB)
Author information
Kıvanç Güngör,1 Peter J. Hotez,2,3,4 Vural Özdemir,5,6,7,8,9 and Şükrü Aynacıoğlu10
1Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital, Gaziantep University, Gaziantep, Turkey.
2National School of Tropical Medicine and Departments of Pediatrics and Molecular Virology and Microbiology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas.
3Sabin Vaccine Institute and Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development, Houston, Texas.
4James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy, Rice University, Houston, Texas.
5Office of the President, Global Technology and Innovation Policy, Gaziantep University, Gaziantep, Turkey.
6School of Journalism, Faculty of Communications, Gaziantep University, Gaziantep, Turkey.
7Department of Industrial Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, and the Technology Transfer Office (TARGET-TTO), Gaziantep University, Gaziantep, Turkey.
8School of Biotechnology, Amrita University, Amritapuri Campus, Kerala, India.
9Data-Enabled Life Sciences Alliance (DELSA Global), Seattle, Washington.
10Department of Medical Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital, Gaziantep University, Gaziantep, Turkey.
ABSTRACT
This article analyzes and theorizes the current knowledge silos at the intersection of omics science, ophthalmology, personalized medicine, and global visual health. Visual disorders represent one of the largest health care expenditures in the United States, costing $139 billion per year. In middle-income and industrialized countries, glaucoma is a World Health Organization priority category eye disease, known for difficulties in its early diagnosis, chronic progressive nature, and large person-to-person differences in drug efficacy and safety. A complex disease, glaucoma is best conceptualized as a syndrome displaying an ostensibly common clinical end-point, but with vastly heterogeneous molecular underpinnings and host–environment interactions. About 12% of all global blindness is attributable to glaucoma. Glaucomics is a term that we coin here so as to introduce omics science and systems diagnostics to ophthalmology, a field that can benefit enormously from personalized medicine, and which has sadly lagged behind in systems diagnostics compared to fields such as oncology. We define glaucomics as the integrated use of multi-omics and systems science approaches towards rational discovery, development, and tandem applications of diagnostics and therapeutics, for glaucoma specifically, and for personalized visual health, more broadly. We propose that glaucoma is one of the neglected lowest hanging fruits and actionable targets for omics and systems diagnostics in 21st century ophthalmology for the salient reasons we describe here. Additionally, we offer an analysis on two of the most pertinent neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), trachoma and river blindness, which continue to plague visual health in developing countries. We conclude with a call for research on omics applications in glaucoma and personalized visual health.