High C-reactive Protein Levels Linked To Higher Age-related Macular Degeneration Risk

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Main Category: Eye Health / Blindness
Article Date: 10 Oct 2007 - 0:00 PDT

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If your blood levels of C-reactive protein are high your risk of developing age-related macular degeneration (AMD) are higher, says a report in Archives of Ophthalmology (JAMA/Archives), October issue.

AMD happens when the macula deteriorates over time. The macula is the area at the back of the retina and is involved in sharp vision. C-reactive protein is linked to inflammation. Inflammation seems to play a role in the development of AMD, explain the writers. Fibrinogen and C-reactive protein, proteins linked with inflammation, have been located in drusen - the white deposits below the retina that are the hallmark of AMD.

Sharmila S. Boekhoorn, M.D., Ph.D., Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and team studied C-reactive protein levels of 4,914 people who were all at risk for AMD. During their first examination, which was carried out during the period 1990-1993, blood samples were collected and photographs were taken of the retina. For an average period of 7.7 years each patient had three additional examinations.

During this period, 658 patients were diagnosed with AMD, of which 561 had early AMD and 97 had late AMD. The researchers found that if a person's level of C-reactive protein rose above the midpoint (median) of the study population, he/she became more susceptible to developing AMD.

"Evidence is accumulating that inflammatory and immune-associated pathways have a role in other degenerative diseases associated with advancing age, such as atherosclerosis and Alzheimer's disease. Drusen components have been found in atherosclerotic plaques and deposits in Alzheimer's disease, and AMD, atherosclerosis, and Alzheimer's disease may partly share a similar inflammatory pathogenesis," the authors wrote.

The authors suggest that reducing levels of C-reactive protein could potentially reduce the risk for AMD. "A substance that can selectively inhibit C-reactive protein synthesis has not yet been developed, to our knowledge. Smoking and high body mass index increase C-reactive protein levels. Moderate alcohol intake, diets with a low glycemic index and statin and multivitamin use reduce C-reactive protein levels."

It is already known that if you are obese and/or a smoker your risk of developing AMD is higher.

"C-reactive Protein Level and Risk of Aging Macula Disorder - The Rotterdam Study"
Sharmila S. Boekhoorn, MD, PhD; Johannes R. Vingerling, MD, PhD; Jacqueline C. M. Witteman, PhD; Albert Hofman, MD, PhD; Paulus T. V. M. de Jong, MD, PhD
Arch Ophthalmol. 2007;125:1396-1401.
-- Click here to view abstract online

Written by: Christian Nordqvist
Copyright: Medical News Today
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