Associations of Alzheimer's disease with macular degeneration.

Associations of Alzheimer's disease with macular degeneration. Front Biosci (Elite Ed). 2017 Jan 1;9:174-191 Authors: Biscetti L, Luchetti E, Vergaro A, Menduno P, Cagini C, Parnetti L Abstract There is growing evidence of epidemiological, genetic, molecular and clinical links between Alzheimer's disease (AD) and age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Major interest in the relationship between AD and AMD has derived from the evidence that beta-amyloid, the main component of senile plaques, the hallmark of AD, is also an important component of drusen, the hallmark of AMD. This finding has a great potential in the present era of anti-amyloid agents for the treatment of AD. The connection between AD and AMD is also supported by the evidence that the two diseases share other pathophysiological factors, such as oxidative stress and neuroinflammation. Accordingly, a few clinical trials have evaluated the efficacy of antioxidants on visual and cognitive performance in patients presenting both disorders. In this review, we summarize the pathophysiological and clinical evidence of the relationship between these two age-related disorders. Considering the increasing prevalence of both conditions along with the aging of the population, further investigations of this important issue are highly needed. PMID: 27814598 [PubMed - in process]
Source: Frontiers in Bioscience - Elite - Category: Biomedical Science Tags: Front Biosci (Elite Ed) Source Type: research