The GGLEAM Study: Understanding Glaucoma in the Ohio Amish

Glaucoma leads to millions of cases of visual impairment and blindness around the world. Its susceptibility is shaped by both environmental and genetic risk factors. Although over 120 risk loci have been identified for glaucoma, a large portion of its heritability is still unexplained. Here we describe the foundation of the Genetics of GLaucoma Evaluation in the AMish (GGLEAM) study to investigate the genetic architecture of glaucoma in the Ohio Amish, which exhibits lower genetic and environmental heterogeneity compared to the general population. To date, we have enrolled 81 Amish individuals in our study from Holmes County, Ohio. As a part of our enrollment process, 62 GGLEAM study participants (42 glaucoma-affected and 20 unaffected individuals) received comprehensive eye examinations and glaucoma evaluations. Using the data from the Anabaptist Genealogy Database, we found that 80 of the GGLEAM study participants were related to one another through a large, multigenerational pedigree containing 1586 people. We plan to integrate the health and kinship data obtained for the GGLEAM study to interrogate glaucoma genetics and pathophysiology in this unique population.

Naming for Kin during World War I: Baby Names as Markers for War

The choice of baby names can reveal how rapidly individuals adapt to new circumstances. A French genealogy database of 5.5 million individuals born between 1905 and 1925 permits an analysis of name transmission from father to son/daughter and uncle to nephew/niece as a reaction to the family disruptions caused by the exigencies of World War I. Immediately following mobilization, the rate of paternal name transmission increased by about 50 percent for both males and females, enhanced by a father’s level of risk as a soldier. Transmission of an uncle’s name increased following his death regardless of whether he died at war, though the phenomenon was significantly more sustained if he did so.