On September 21, AEVR’s Decade of Vision 2010-2020 Initiative hosted a Congressional briefing entitled Lifestyle and Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) during International Awareness Week (September 18-24) with co-sponsors AMD Alliance International, the Alliance for Aging Research, the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO), the European Vision Institute (EVI) and Lighthouse International.
Featured speaker clinician-scientist Emily Chew, M.D., AMD Aliiance International Science Panel Member, NEI Deputy Clinical Director, and Deputy Director of the Division of Epidemiology and Clinical Applications, described the two forms of AMD and their vision loss consequences —the “wet” form, where abnormal blood vessels develop under the retina that leak fluid and cause central vision loss, and the “dry” form, where protein deposits called “drusen” develop and the retina degenerates or slowly thins out, resulting in a slow progression to vision loss.
Dr. Chew identified the non-modifiable risk factors-that is, factors that individuals cannot control-for developing AMD as increasing age, family history, and ethnicity (more prevalent in a fair-skinned individual). Modifiable risk factors affected by lifestyle include cigarette smoking, high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol levels, increased body mass/obesity, sun exposure, and oxidative stress. She focused on the role of nutrition, as she has been involved in the NEI-funded Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) study, both AREDS1 and AREDS2, where she serves as study chair.
