Posted on 10/22/2003 7:12:45 AM PDT by bedolido
University of Kentucky eye researchers have identified mice with two unusual genes as the first animals likely to help crack the mysteries of the nation's leading cause of blindness for people 50 and older -- age-related macular degeneration.
Finding an animal with the eye disease -- or something very similar, in this case -- is a crucial first step to test potential treatments, said Dr. Jaya-krishna Ambati, UK's director of ophthalmic research. Ambati led the research and wrote about the findings in November's issue of the journal Nature Medicine, published Sunday.
"In medical research and vision research this is a landmark finding," said Dr. Gerald Chader, chief scientific officer for the Maryland-based Foundation Fighting Blindness, which raises money for eye research, including some of Ambati's work. "This animal model is going to allow us to unravel all the factors in this disease."
The discovery of two genes that cause major features of the eye disease in mice is likely to stimulate drug development or other treatments, Ambati said.
There is currently no treatment for most cases of macular degeneration. "There's been no animal model to even test potential therapies on," Chader said. "It's been a roadblock, a terrible block."
Age-related macular degeneration causes loss of central vision, the type of eyesight needed for driving, reading and other activities.
"It strikes one-third of Americans 75 and older, so it's not an exaggeration that this is an epidemic," Ambati said. The disease affects up to 13 million Americans, according to the AMD Alliance International, and that number is expected to triple by 2025, as the population ages.
Ambati said the mice also will help researchers study how the disease develops, test medications and develop genetic testing.
Ambati and other researchers have been working on identifying an animal model for about three years.
With the new model, researchers in Ambati's laboratory are already studying the disease's molecular biology and looking at gene therapy and medications that could reverse the eye problems in mice.
Ambati and seven other researchers were involved in the work. Most of the researchers are based at UK, but the team also included researchers from the University of Texas, Harvard and the Medical College of Georgia.
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