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Protective inflammasome activation in AMD

Nature Medicine volume 18, pages 658–660 (2012)Cite this article

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Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause of blindness in the elderly. AMD progression is associated with alterations in inflammatory pathways and the immune system. A new study identifies a protective role for inflammasomes in AMD, suggesting that inflammasome activation might be manipulated as a potential therapeutic strategy for this condition (pages 791–798).

Every year, millions of elderly adults worldwide lose their ability to read, drive or recognize faces as a result of age-related macular degeneration. Fine vision is lost in the central visual field (the macula), resulting in blurred images or a central 'black hole' (scotoma). Although people with AMD may have sufficient peripheral vision to allow them to perform basic daily activities, many ordinary tasks normally taken for granted, such as reading, can become challenging. As the number of aging people in the world increases, AMD will become an ever-increasing health burden in the next several decades. Thus, understanding the pathogenesis of AMD is crucial to finding ways to treat or prevent the vision loss associated with this disease.

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Figure 1: Inflammasome-mediated regulation of choroidal neovascularization in AMD.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Jing Chen and Lois E.H. Smith are in the Department of Ophthalmology, Children's Hospital Boston, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,

    Jing Chen & Lois E H Smith

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  1. Jing Chen
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  2. Lois E H Smith
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Correspondence to Lois E H Smith.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Chen, J., Smith, L. Protective inflammasome activation in AMD. Nat Med 18, 658–660 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/nm.2761

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