People with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) have been found to have microscopic particles of calcium in their eyes, which leads to blindness. The discovery offers hope of a cure for AMD, a leading cause of lost vision.
AMD affects one in five people over 75. Until the new study, its cause was a mystery.
In the study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, University College London researchers examined donor eyes with fluorescent dyes and discovered microscopic spheres of hydroxylapatite, or mineralized calcium phosphate, in eyes afflicted with AMD.
They discovered the mineral particles, which are commonly found in bones and teeth, in "drusen," a substance characteristically found in people with this disease. Cellular processes regularly remove waste products from the eye, but drusen can trap waste material inside the retina, contributing to AMD.
A therapy that removes drusen and the resulting waste material in the retina, may cure AMD, scientists say.
Some of the mineral samples were found to be coated with amyloid beta, a substance found in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease, leading the researchers believe their discovery could help lead to early diagnosis and treatment of that ailment as well.
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