Five blood metabolites may represent potential therapeutic targets for preventing high myopia, according to an international study led by Soochow University researchers in China.
Published online in Eye, the study combined Mendelian randomisation analysis with a real-world case-control study to investigate potential causal relationships between circulating metabolites and high myopia. The researchers analysed summary data for 122 blood metabolites from three genome-wide association studies and high-myopia data from a UK Biobank study involving 50,372 participants.
The analysis found that higher genetically predicted levels of glutamine and tyrosine and the degree of unsaturation and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) were associated with lower odds of high myopia, while isobutyrylcarnitine was associated with increased odds.
A subsequent case-control study supported the associations for glutamine and tyrosine. Higher glutamine levels were associated with lower odds of high myopia (OR 0.76, 95% CI 0.58–0.98), as were higher tyrosine levels (OR 0.72, 95% CI 0.55–0.94).
The authors said further research is required to establish whether targeting these metabolites can prevent high myopia and to clarify the biological mechanisms involved.
