Genetic research provides insights into age-related macular degeneration.

摘要

WITH NO CURE AND A PREVA-lence twice that of Alzheimer disease, age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is increasingly being recognized as a serious condition that leads to vision loss in a growing number of elderly persons. While a clear heritable component to the disease has been known for years, only recently have investigators begun to tease out the alterations in genetic pathways-particularly those involving complement and to some extent cholesterol-that play a role.