Dementia of the eye: the role of amyloid beta in retinal degeneration.

ABSTRACT: Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is one of the most common causes of irreversible blindness affecting nearly 50 million individuals globally. The disease is characterised by progressive loss of central vision, which has significant implications for quality of life concerns in an increasingly ageing population. AMD pathology manifests in the macula, a specialised region of the retina, which is responsible for central vision and perception of fine details. The underlying pathology of this complex degenerative disease is incompletely understood but includes both genetic as well as epigenetic risk factors. The recent discovery that amyloid beta (Aβ), a highly toxic and aggregate-prone family of peptides, is elevated in the ageing retina and is associated with AMD has opened up new perspe

SUBMITTER: Ratnayaka JA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4541342 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature