Study Finds Key Factor in AMD

HOT TOPIC

DNA Damage Identified as Factor in AMD

A research team co-led by the University of California, Irvine, has discovered that the accumulation of DNA damage in the retina is a key cause of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Targeting specific retina cells could lead to treatments that slow down or even stop the progression of the disease. Thus, DNA damage is a key factor in AMD.

The study, published in the journal Aging Cell, reveals how this DNA damage, a standard process in aging, compromises the retina’s function and accelerates vision loss. According to co-author Dorota Skowronska-Krawczyk, PhD, “Our findings highlight the critical role DNA damage repair plays in maintaining retina health for good vision.”

In the study, the research team compared a mouse model with reduced levels of ERCC1-XPF, a DNA repair enzyme, with both young, healthy mice and healthy aging mice. By 3 months of age, the test showed the mice with reduced enzyme levels showed visual impairment, structural alterations in the retina, abnormal blood vessel formation, and shifts in gene expression and metabolism. Not only that, but mitochondrial dysfunction was also present in the retinal pigment epithelium. All these changes are typically found in the normal aging human eye.

Prof. Skowronska-Krawczyk stated, “The more we know about how DNA damage contributes to eye diseases like AMD, [the better] we can develop interventions that address the root cause of vision loss. These could include strategies to counteract oxidative stress, enhance DNA repair, or even remove damaged cells before they cause harm … We plan to investigate which cell types drive age-related changes by selectively impairing DNA mechanisms.” [Read more here.]

My Two Cents

AMD is undoubtedly a hot topic in the eye care field, as it seems new treatments for geographic atrophy, possible in-office treatments for dry AMD, and countless pieces of research have come across my desk recently. Given the fact that AMD is a significant cause of blindness in people 50 years of age and older, it’s exciting (and extremely necessary) to see the focus being put on this debilitating disease state. Kudos to UC Irvine for this discovery; it stands to reason that the more information we have on how the disease causes damage, the better potential treatments can be tailored.

OUTSIDE THE LANE

Too Much Screen Time Not Just Bad for the Eyes

Straying a little outside the hard sciences, this year’s word of the year, according to the publishers of the Oxford English Dictionary, is “brain rot.” This is a term that, according to Oxford, describes either the cause or effect of spending hours online viewing trivial information. It communicates concerns about the effect of consuming excessive amounts of low-quality online content.

The dictionary points out that use of the term brain rot grew by 230% between 2023 and 2024, and after a public vote of more than 37,000 people, brain rot won out as the 2024 Oxford Word of the Year. According to Casper Grathwohl, the president of Oxford Languages, “I find it fascinating that the term brain rot has been adopted by Gen Z and Gen Alpha, those communities largely responsible for the use and creation of the digital content the term refers to.” Also, quite interestingly, in 2023, the US Surgeon General issued a formal warning about social media and the mental health of youth, acknowledging that some use of technology can lead to potentially harmful brain changes. We as eye care practitioners also know about the effects of excessive screen time on the ocular surface.

My Two Cents

I believe brain rot is a real problem. I have been guilty of “doom scrolling” or mindlessly scanning Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, or other social media to find something interesting. This is also one of the biggest reasons I don’t let my son have his tablet, except in rare instances. Now, if you’re skimming through the Significant Findings archive, I might have a different opinion ….

CAN YOU RELATE

This past weekend, I was invited to Staar Surgical’s headquarters in Irvine, California, to share my experience getting the EVO ICL with an incredible group of optometrists at the inaugural OD summit. It was a great few days learning even more about the fantastic technology inside my eyes.

It’s funny how you want to take any chance you get to spread the word when something changes your life for the better so that hopefully others can also experience that extraordinary change.

We get to change people’s lives every day with amazing advances in the medical management of various conditions such as dry eye, glaucoma, and macular degeneration, myopia management, specialty contact lenses, visual therapy, and the countless other specialties in eye care. Don’t be afraid to ask your patients for video or written testimonials. I’m sure many would be happy to provide them. You might even have a raving fan who is willing to give up their weekend, fly across the country, and preach about how much they love your product!

IMAGE OF THE WEEK

IOL subluxation.

Paul Hammond, OD, FAAO, @kmkoptometrypro

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“In health care, the experience of the patient is the new marketing.”

— David Feinberg, former CEO of Geisinger Health