The retina, like many cancers, produces energy from glycolysis even in the presence of oxygen. This phenomenon is known as aerobic glycolysis and eponymously as the Warburg effect. In recent years, the Warburg effect has become an explosive area of study within the cancer research community. The expanding knowledge about the molecular mechanisms underpinning the Warburg effect in cancer promises to provide a greater understanding of mammalian retinal metabolism and has motivated cancer researchers to target the Warburg effect as a novel treatment strategy for cancer. However, if the molecular mechanisms underlying the Warburg effect are shared by the retina and cancer, treatments targeting the Warburg effect may have serious adverse effects on retinal metabolism. Herein, we provide an updated understanding of the Warburg effect in mammalian retina.

Primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) is a genetically complex disease. Genome-wide association study (GWAS) is a particularly useful tool in the search for genetic contributions to glaucoma. Recently, chromosome 9p21 has become a major focus of research endeavour, with multiple genome-wide association studies suggesting associations to POAG. Herein, we provide a review of the chromosome 9p21 susceptibility locus as a risk factor for POAG.

This study demonstrated that female sex is a risk factor for developing advanced NTG. The stronger genetic signals at the 9p21 locus among females may contribute at least in part to the observed sex bias for NTG.