Macular degeneration tied to COVID, study finds
Researchers have found a genetic link between the risk for COVID-19 infection and the leading cause of vision loss among people aged 50 and older, called age-related macular degeneration.
The findings show that COVID and AMD were associated with variations in what is called the PDGFB gene, which has a role in new blood vessel formation and is linked to abnormal blood vessel changes that occur in AMD. The . The analysis included genetic data from more than 16,000 people with AMD, more than 50,000 people with COVID, plus control groups.
Age-related macular degeneration is a vision problem that occurs when a part of the retina called the macula is damaged, according to the . The result is that central vision is lost, but peripheral vision remains normal, so it is difficult to see fine details. For example, a person with AMD can see a clock's numbers but not its hands.
"Our analysis lends credence to previously reported clinical studies that found those with AMD have a higher risk for COVID-19 infection and severe disease, and that this increased risk may have a genetic basis," explained Boston University researcher Lindsay Farrer, PhD, chief of biomedical genetics, in a Previous research has shown that people with AMD have a 25% increased risk of respiratory failure or death due to COVID, which is higher than other well-known risk factors such...
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