Two papers investigating the association of the compliment component 2 (C2) and compliment factor B (CFB) genes with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) appear in the February 2009 edition of the journal Investigative Ophthalmology and Vision Science. In the first paper, researchers in Austrailia investigated 7 varients (known as SNPs) of...

A large genetic study in Germany finds that the compliment Factor H (CFH) gene was involved with the onset of AMD, and that both the CFH gene and the age-related maculopathy susceptibility (ARMS2) gene are involved with its progression. The researchers analysed variants (known as SNPs) in the genes for complement factor H (CFH), age-related...

A study of Taiwan Chinese with early AMD found that the presence of the Y402H polymorphism in complement factor H is significantly associated with increased susceptibility to early AMD. Efforts have been made to identify susceptibility genes for AMD. Recent reports have shown that a common polymorphism Y402H in the complement factor H (CFH)...

A new study finds that a varient of the HtrA1 gene is strongly associated with both wet and dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The HtrA1 gene increases the production of a protein involved in protein quality control and cell fate. The identified single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), rs11200638, located in the promoter region of HtrA1,...

A large prospective multi-ethnic study failed to find a strong association between systemic inflammatory disease, use of antiinflammatory agents, biomarkers of inflammatory disease, and related processes with age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Inflammation has been hypothesized to have a role in the pathogenesis of AMD. Inflammatory cells...

A new genetic association between the complement system and age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is reported in the journal Lancet. Genetic studies have made advancements in establishing the molecular cause of AMD, identifying mutations in the complement factor H (CFH) gene and a locus on chromosome 10 encompassing the HTRA1/LOC387715/ARMS2...

New research is providing insights into the genetics behind dry macular degeneration — and raising red flags about the indiscriminate use of RNAi-based therapies for treating the wet form of the disease. An international team of researchers used gene-association studies to reveal links between an immune protein, toll-like receptor-3 (TLR3),...

If you could find out now whether you're likely to have a deadly disease in the future... would you want to know? That's the debate behind DNA testing. Recently, when I agreed to have my own DNA tested, I thought at first, "this is no big deal. I’ll probably not go to find out I'm at risk for some incurable illness". I felt that way...

In a new study published in the current edition of the New England Journal of Medicine describes the discovery of the first gene associated with severe, "dry" age-related macular degeneration, also known as geographic atrophy. They also show that there could be adverse consequences, including blindness, if individuals who possess a particular...

A new study finds that patients with AMD have evidence of systemic activation of the alternative complement pathway (AP). Two lines of evidence have implicated inflammation in the development of AMD. First, drusen contain large amounts of material associated with inflammation and immune-mediated processes. Second are genetic studies that have...