BioCentury
ARTICLE | Cover Story

Geography lesson in dry AMD

February 24, 2011 8:00 AM UTC

American researchers have identified an RNA-based mechanism in the retina that could be responsible for triggering the blindness associated with advanced dry age-related macular degeneration.1 The team is developing inhibitors and ultimately hopes to submit an IND.

Unlike wet AMD, which results from scarring caused by leaky blood vessels and thus can be treated with a variety of angiogenesis inhibitors, dry AMD is initially characterized by the buildup of extracellular debris beneath the retina. Over time, those deposits cause significant atrophy of the retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) layer-a condition known as geographic atrophy-and can ultimately advance to permanent blindness...