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According to researchers, the discovery will help pave the way to finding a possible treatment that will halt the threat of blindness in the elderly. Professor Mike Cheetham, head of molecular and cellular neuroscience at University of Liverpool, stated, "It's a potentially very important breakthrough which gives insight into this dry form of the disease. "It could provide new pathways to therapy, but the findings need to be validated by other researchers." DICER protects against dry AMD Researchers at the University of Kentucky compared the eyes donated by adults who had died with AMD with those of non-sufferers. They discovered that levels of an enzyme DICER1 were three times higher in the healthy retinas than in those of people with the "dry form" of the illness. In laboratory experiments on mice, the researchers found that when the gene that makes the enzyme DICER 1 was turned off, the retina cells of the rodents were damaged. According to researchers, when DICER levels drop it leads to the build-up of a toxic type of genetic material called Alu RNA causing ‘geographic atrophy’ or the death of the retina cells in patients with advanced ‘dry’ AMD. Researcher Dr. Jayakrishna Ambati, a professor of ophthalmology stated, "In patients with geographic atrophy there is a dramatic reduction in the dicer enzyme in the retina. "When the levels of dicer decline, the control system is short-circuited and too much alu accumulates. This leads to death of the retina." He added, "This work opens many new doors of research. "First, we need to identify various classes of molecules that can either increase DICER1 levels or block Alu RNA so that these can be evaluated in clinical trials. "Second, we need to understand more about the biological processes that lead to reduction in DICER1 levels and the precise source of the Alu RNA transcripts." The research has been published online in the journal 'Nature.' Age-related macular degeneration AMD is a degenerative retinal disease that causes permanent visual damage resulting in a blind spot in the center of vision. The condition usually affects older adults. Classified into “dry” and “wet” forms, the condition starts with blurring of images and progresses into an inability to recognize faces, read or watch television. AMD cannot be cured by prescription glasses, medication, or surgery. For more information check out AMD
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