Age-related macular degeneration: a new perspective
As one of the researchers said, “If macular degeneration was a country, then by population it would be the 8th largest country in the world.”
It affects 200 million people, and that it is the primary cause for loss of vision. Attempts to find a cause have been undertaken over the years. Finally, though, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.
A trigger has been discovered leading to this destructive inflammation. If this new data is confirmed, it might be possible to catch the problem in an early stage and save people from blindness.
But it’s too early to throw our hats off in celebration. It will take years before the medication is ready that prevents the excessive activity of this enzyme, leaving some time to check for its efficiency and safety.
Scientists hope to find a way to detect the level of this enzyme in a patient’s eye. This will provide the opportunity to decide when it’s best to start blocking that enzyme, with the test having a level of accuracy of up to a single molecule.
At BEI, as you know, we highly prize accurate measurements, so we will follow these events closely.
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2017-11-trigger-common-vision-loss.html
