Washington: Scientists from the University of Minnesota in the United States have discovered a preventive method that helps slow the progression of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), which is the leading cause of vision loss in people over the age of 65.
The newly discovered method focuses on prevention and early intervention at the onset of the disease and may offer the best chance to preserve vision and prevent AMD from progressing into severe, incurable forms.
The study showed that removing the key links in the body’s inflammatory chain prevents the early signs of this disease, such as the infiltration of immune cells beneath the retina and the formation of deposits under the retina.
Researchers reported how much recent treatments improved vision in severely affected patients who received adult stem cell derived RPE transplants levels of improvement not previously seen in people with advanced dry AMD.
The study emphasized that results appear promising, by controlling inflammatory mechanisms, the retina can be protected from damage that typically accumulates with age. Since the early forms of age related macular degeneration are often asymptomatic, preventive strategies could be extremely important for millions of people at risk of the disease.
In future research, the team plans to test whether a similar anti-inflammatory approach not only prevents damage but also helps partially restore visual structures after the disease has begun.
