Obesity is linked to macular degeneration.
Obesity is linked to macular degeneration. A Canadian study published in the journal Science elucidates a new molecular mechanism that may cause age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The research at Hôpital Maisonneuve-Rosement, in Montreal shows how life stressors such as obesity reprogram immune system cells and make them destructive to the eye as it ages. "We wanted to know why some people with a genetic predisposition develop AMD while others are spared," said Université de Montréal ophthalmology professor Przemyslaw (Mike) Sapieha, who led the study by his postdoctoral fellow Dr. Masayuki Hata. "Although considerable effort has been invested in understanding the genes responsible for AMD, variations and mutations in susceptibility genes only increase the risk of developing the disease, but do not cause it," Sapieha explained. "This observation suggests that we must gain a better understanding of how other factors such as environment and lifestyle contr