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The Beaver Dam Eye Study (BDES) has provided a wealth of information since its inception in 1988. In this report the Duggal et al. (66) evaluated relatives of the original BDES participants to determine the heritability of intraocular pressure (IOP). They established 620 pedigrees. Their study confirmed the heritability of IOP. There was more correlation of IOP between first-degree relatives than among more distantly related individuals. They also found more correlation between first-degree relatives than between spouses. There was, however, enough correlation between spouses to suggest an environmental influence. The authors estimated that 30% of the IOP could be attributable to heredity when controlled for age, sex, glaucoma treatment and systolic blood pressure. A whole-genome scan revealed two novel loci (on chromosomes 6 and 13) that were linked to IOP.