Zinc Found To Be A Link In Age-Related Macular Degeneration

An international research team including scientists at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB) and the Galveston-based spinoff Neurobiotex, Inc. has found high levels of zinc in deposits in the eye that are an indication of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) - the leading cause of blindness in the elderly in the developed world. The finding, published this month in the journal Experimental Eye Research, contributes to a better understanding of AMD and could facilitate the development of effective treatments, said UTMB ophthalmologist Erik van Kuijk, senior author of the study. AMD is a form of macular disease that affects the eye's central retina and afflicts millions of people (30 percent of them over 75 years old) in the United States alone. It is associated with defects of retinal pigment epithelial cells (RPE), the failure of which leads to progressive loss of vision. Despite the potentially devastating impact on patients' quality of life, no successful therapy to stop or reverse the progression of AMD is available in the majority of cases. An early sign and a presumed trigger of the eye disease is the formation of microscopic plaques, called "drusen," in the eye. Exactly what these plaque-like drusen do and why they form is not yet fully understood, the researchers noted. "We have discovered that the drusen in the eyes of those with AMD have very high levels of zinc," said van Kuijk, associate professor in the UTMB Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences.