Targeted actions to identify novel inflammatory and immunological factors associated with predisposition to AMD in the TILDA population cohort

Lead Researcher:

Dr Sarah Doyle

Award Date:

1 January 2013

Host Institution:

Trinity College Dublin

Scheme:

Health Research Award

Summary:

Age-related-macular-degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of central vision loss in the over-50’s worldwide. AMD has both early (“dry”) and advanced (“wet”) disease stages. Although “wet” AMD is the minority form of the disease it is very aggressive and accounts for 90% of blindness caused by this condition, a condition the World Health Organisation names as one of the leading causes of sight loss in the developed world. Holding two coins in front of your eyes results in a single large black circle blocking your central vision, this is a realistic simulation of what it is like to live with the advanced disease. We have found that inflammation is central to AMD and that an inflammatory component termed IL-18 appears to prevent the progression from "dry" to “wet” AMD. Currently there is no method for assessing if an individual with “dry” AMD is at increased risk of progressing to the severe “wet” form. It is likely that individuals with a specific immune signature, in their blood may be protected from developing “wet” AMD, while others with an opposing signature may be at increased risk. The project objectives are 1) to assess the occurrence of AMD in the aging Irish population and 2) to measure the relationship between AMD, inflammatory mediators and risk factors. If successful, novel biomarkers of inflammation that could be used to predict individuals at higher risk of developing the more severe forms of AMD will be elucidated. This would allow for early detection of these high-risk individuals at a population level when introduction of simple lifestyle modifications can still limit disease progression.