Research lead
Researchers at Southampton University, led by Professor Andrew Lotery, have identified a new genetic risk factor for the progressive eye disease age-related macular degeneration (AMD), which is a major cause of untreatable blindness in elderly people in developed countries.
AMD affects the retinal pigment in the macular region at the back of the eye. Building on their previous research in which it was shown that genes that control inflammation are implicated in the development of AMD, the researchers analysed DNA from 478 people with AMD and 555 controls for variations in genes controlling the production and suppression of inflammatory cytokines.
The researchers found one of the genetic variants (251A/T), which is associated with a gene that boosts the production of the cytokine interleukin 8, was significantly more common among the patients with AMD. This was true even after taking account of age, sex, weight, and smoking, which are known risk factors for AMD.
Lotery says it may be possible to identify people with this risk factor and give them anti-inflammatory treatments. He also suggest the findings might lead to the possibility of a genetic test for predisposition to could form the basis of a drug discovery programme.
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