Researchers from the Centre of Eye Research Australia, WEHI and the University of Melbourne discovered specific genetic changes that raise the risk of severe forms of age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
Study results were published in Nature Communications that highlight the distinct genetic factors associated to the existence of reticiular pseudodrusen, which are the deposits that lead to vision loss. Up to 60 percent of people with the advanced form of AMD have these deposits on their retina.
Therapies that are currently available only slow the progression of the disease once notable damage has been inflicted. Around the world, AMD affects more than 196 million people and is the leading cause of irreversible vision loss in people over the age of 50.
Results from the study underscore the reality that AMD is not a singular disease but rather a disease that has a variety of related conditions making it necessary to have treatment approaches that are unique to each person. The study results also show the need to derive therapies that help prevent the deposits from forming on the retina.
