200 million people worldwide are affected by age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Researchers have found a treatment to stop the progression of the disease.
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of visual impairment in people over 50. If it never makes you totally blind, because part of the eye remains intact, it is very troublesome for the detailed vision of patients, who become more dependent. Researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine in the United States have found a way to prevent the disease from progressing.
A new target for treatment
A special enzyme called cGAS which influences the immune system’s response to infections has also been found in AMD. But it is also active in this disease, even though it has nothing to do with an infection with viruses or bacteria. Ambati, one of the professors in charge of the study explains: “The activation of this enzyme, which reacts like an alarm, leads to the destruction of cells in the retina, and to the loss of sight. “
A treatment to block the enzyme
Scientists are now looking for a way to block the work of this enzyme to prevent it from destroying cells. “There are already treatments on the market that target specific enzymes, such as statins (which are used to lower cholesterol levels). To do this, researchers will have to find a way to detect the level of cGAS in a patient, in order to determine a threshold from which to administer treatment to block the enzyme. A challenge for Professor Ambati: “it is very precise medicine, at the molecular level”.
The development of such a treatment will take a few more years to carry out all the safety and efficacy tests.
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