The most common cause of blindness is age-related macular degeneration. British scientists say they have developed a stem cell procedure that will reverse the effects of the disease.

Research results from the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine show that the progression of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is markedly slowed in new laboratory-engineered mice when they received treatments of retinylamine, a trial drug that has been tested in a medical school lab. AMD is a leading cause of vision loss in Americans 60 years of age and older.

Having discovered a genetic trigger for age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of vision loss in people over 50, researchers report that an experimental state-of-the-art therapy for treating eye disease could adversely affect the vision of some patients with the "wrong" genetic makeup.

Age-dependent macular degeneration (AMD) is the commonest cause of blindness in the western industrialised nations. Hereditary changes in the regulation of the immune system influence the risk of contracting AMD.

Women who take postmenopausal hormones appear to have a lower risk of developing advanced stages of the eye disease age-related macular degeneration, especially if they had also taken oral contraceptives in the past, according to a report in the April issue of Archives of Ophthalmology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Two major eye diseases and leading causes of blindness—age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy—can be reversed or even prevented by drugs that activate a protein found in blood vessel cells, researchers at the University of Utah School of Medicine and several other institutions have announced in a new study.

A new study of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a disease that affects more than nine million Americans, will pave the way for the biopharmaceutical industry to develop better treatments and cures, according to the Foundation Fighting Blindness, which partially funded the research.

A diet rich in antioxidant vitamins and minerals does not seem to prevent the degenerative eye disease known as age related macular degeneration, finds a study published on bmj.com today.

High blood levels of C-reactive protein, a substance linked to inflammation, appear to be associated with an increased risk for age-related macular degeneration, according to a report in the October issue of Archives of Ophthalmology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Consuming higher levels of the yellow plant pigments lutein and zeaxanthin may be associated with a lower risk for age-related macular degeneration, according to a report in the September issue of Archives of Ophthalmology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

A team of scientists, including three researchers at George Mason University, found that the mineral zinc could play a role in the development of macular degeneration. In studying eye tissue samples, the researches found that deposits, that are hallmarks of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), contain large amounts of zinc.

Current and past smokers appear to have a higher risk of developing late age-related macular degeneration than those who have never smoked, according to a report in the July issue of Archives of Ophthalmology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.