A research team from the University of Wisconsin — Madison has reportedly uncovered immune abnormalities beneath the retina that result in macular degeneration, reportedly uncovering a possible treatment that could help slow or prevent it.
Led by assistant professor of ophthalmology and visual sciences Aparna Lakkaraju, the team studied two protective mechanisms of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) — the protein CD59 and lysosomes — that are reportedly compromised during the gradual onset of macular degeneration. Lakkaraju was able to identify an enzyme activated by excess cholesterol in the RPE that neutralizes both protective mechanisms, and found a drug used to treat depression stopped the enzyme and restored the protection and health of RPE cells in a mouse model.
The study was recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
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Source: University of Wisconsin — Madison