Research to Prevent Blindness

Major Breakthrough in Early Detection and Prevention of AMD

Dr. Ambati led the research team

"The beauty of the detection is that it's a treatment in itself," said Dr. Ambati, who received an RPB Physician-Scientist Award in 2007 to develop novel therapies for blinding diseases such as AMD.

RPB-supported researchers have discovered a biological marker for wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) that shows strong potential as a means for both early detection and preventive treatment.

"This is a major paradigm shift in macular degeneration research," said Jayakrishna Ambati, M.D., a professor of physiology, professor and vice-chair of ophthalmology and visual sciences, RPB awardee, and the Dr. E. Vernon and Eloise C. Smith Endowed Chair in Macular Degeneration at the UK College of Medicine. "We have for the first time found a unique molecular signature for the disease. This brings us closer than we have ever been to developing a clinical diagnostic tool to discover and treat the disease early, before vision is lost."

Read the entire press release.

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June 15, 2009