Researchers discover a key failure in AMD that may lead to progression and vision loss

Research led by Nicolas Bazan, MD, Ph.D., Boyd Professor, Ernest C. and Yvette C. Villere Chair for the Study of Retinal Degeneration, and Director of the Neuroscience Center of Excellence at LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine, suggests that age-related macular degeneration (AMD) decreases an essential fatty acid, preventing the formation of a class of protective molecules and reducing repair potential. The discovery may also open new therapeutic avenues for AMD. The findings are published in Experimental Eye Research.