The A.A.O. has repeatedly recommended that clinicians and eye surgeons avoid the use of genetic testing for complex eye diseases such as AMD and late-onset primary open-angle glaucoma. The A.A.O. also advises patients not to undergo such tests until therapies or monitoring strategies are available that can provide some benefit to individuals with disease-associated genotypes. Finally, it urges medical personnel to limit genetic typing of these patients to research purposes.
The Academy believes, in fact, that the genetic tests currently on the market for these eye diseases do not offer any significant benefit or additional insight into a patient's actual predisposition to a particular disease.
Moreover, the AAO firmly believes that a comprehensive eye examination is significantly more effective than commercially available genetic tests in diagnosing a treatable disease.
In the US population, approximately 9.1 million people suffer from AMD, a multifactorial disease caused by lifestyle factors such as smoking and diet, as well as genetic factors. However, because there are multiple genotypes associated with an increased risk for AMD, genetic testing does not currently provide any proven benefit in the prevention and treatment of the disease.
It was precisely the increasing promotional pressure, aimed directly at the public, from companies selling genetic tests that prompted the Academy to reiterate its position on this issue through the AAO guidelines. (rev. 2014)
Dr. Carmelo Chines
Direttore responsabile
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