Inflammation and the pathogenesis of age-related macular degeneration

Background: Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of blindness in the Western world. Many changes occur in various areas of the eye as it ages. These include choroidal thinning, thickening of Bruch's membrane and drusen formation. Each of these is associated with the onset of AMD. Methods: Recent findings on how those changes contribute to the pathogenesis of AMD with a focus on inflammation are examined. Results: There is evidence suggesting that all changes identified so far as being involved in the pathogenesis of AMD are not able to cause AMD alone. Instead, susceptibility genes, and in particular a coding variant of a gene on chromosome 1 result in dysfunction of the immune system. This leads to an inappropriate inflammatory response, which then sets the stage for AMD onset. Conclusions: It is now well-known that AMD is a multi-factorial disease, with environmental causes and genetics all playing a role.