Search is Powered by Google
Follow us on:
Follow our health news on Twitter
Follow Our News on Facebook
Personalization
login | register
Eye Health / Blindness News

Increased Risk Of Age-Related Macular Degeneration From Gene Variant

Main Category: Eye Health / Blindness
Also Included In: Seniors / Aging;  Genetics
Article Date: 21 Jul 2007 - 13:00 PDT

email icon email to a friend   printer icon printer friendly   write icon view / write opinions   rate icon rate article
Current Article Ratings:

Patient / Public:5 stars

4.75 (4 votes)

Health Professional:not yet rated

Article Opinions: 0 posts

Researchers have found a gene variant that can more than double the risk of developing the degenerative eye disease, age-related macular degeneration.

The macula lies at the centre of the retina and is essential for detailed central vision. Degeneration of the macula interferes with important tasks such as reading and driving.

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the cause of which is poorly understood, is the leading cause of visual loss in older people and the commonest cause of blindness in the USA and European countries.

The researchers based their findings on studies of patients with AMD (603 from England and 244 from Scotland) who were compared with 701 unaffected people.

They found that a variant in the complement C3 gene influenced the risk of developing AMD. For the 30% of the population who carry one copy of the so-called 'fast' variant the risk of AMD was increased by 70%, and for the 4% of people with two copies of the 'fast' variant the risk of AMD was more than doubled.

AMD can take two forms called 'wet' (also called choroidal neovascularisation or CNV) and 'dry' (also called geographic atrophy or GA). The 'fast' variant in the C3 gene increases the risk of both forms of the disease.

The complement C3 gene has a central role in the immune system. The results of this research provide strong evidence that inflammation is an important part of the disease process in AMD.

The goal of this type of research is to achieve a full understanding of the causes of AMD, which should lead to the development of better treatment and strategies for prevention of this common and debilitating disease.

Professor John Yates, at the University of Cambridge, said: "AMD is devastating for those who lose their site and we hope that a better understanding of what causes the disease will eventually lead to better treatment and perhaps prevention".

The initial studies were carried out by a team of researchers led by Professor Yates and Professor Tony Moore at the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology. Further work to confirm the initial findings was carried out by researchers in Scotland led by Professor Alan Wright, Medical Research Council Human Genetics Unit, Edinburgh.

----------------------------
Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release.
----------------------------

This research, reported in the New England Journal of Medicine, has been funded by the Medical Research Council.

Source: Genevieve Maul
University of Cambridge




Personalized Homepage Weekly Newsletters Daily News Alerts
Hemophilia Opioid Induced Constipation Pneumococcal Disease ADHD Anxiety Asthma Atrial Fibrillation Autism Cancer Diabetes Lung Cancer Lupus Medicare / Medicaid Obesity and BMI Pancreatic Cancer Stem Cells All 'What Is...' Articles

Ophthalmology Urology
About Us News Licensing Free Website Feeds Free Tools & Content Tell a Friend Accessibility Help / FAQ Article Submission Links Contact Us

add medical news today to your facebook
medical news gadget

Please fill in our survey

Swine Flu Image

Swine Flu Updates

- Latest Swine Flu News
- What is Swine Flu?
- Map Of H1N1 Outbreaks
- Swine Flu - Top 20 FAQ
- Daily Email News Alerts
Stick with Medical News Today for the latest news updates on swine flu.


These are the most read articles from this news category for the last 6 months:
Top Article Star
Blind Woman's Tooth Helped Restore Her Sight
17 Sep 2009
For the first time in the US surgeons used a rare procedure to help a blind woman regain her sight: they implanted her own tooth in her eye to hold a prosthetic lens in place...


Improving Reading Vision image Improving Reading Vision

Aging can often mean losing the ability to read up close. But does that mean a life of looking for lost glasses? Learn what other options are available...

What Is a Cataract? image What Is a Cataract?

When you reach a certain age, it's usually clear that your vision isn't as sharp as it used to be. Learn how surgery for the cloudy lens of a cataract can restore vision...

View more videos...