Genetic Risk of Age-related Maculopathy

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Abstract
AGE-RELATED maculopathy (ARM) is by far the leading cause of blindness in the elderly in developed countries.1 The prevalence and severity of ARM increase substantially with age. By age 80 years, approximately 10% of patients have developed 1 of the 2 late stages of ARM—atrophic or neovascular macular degeneration.2 Treatment such as laser photocoagulation is available for only a minority of patients, and even then improvement of visual function is limited.3 The growing population of elderly and increased life expectancy necessitate research into the causes and risk factors of this disease.