Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause of vision loss in the elderly. In patients with this eye disease the central part of the retina (the inner lining of the eye) breaks down. As a result patients lose the central part of their visual field and lose their sharp vision. Currently there is no treatment for the most common form of AMD.
From laboratory studies we know that the complement system, part of our inborn immune system, is too active in AMD patients. Therefore, several pharmaceutical companies have tested inhibitors of the complement system as a treatment strategy for AMD, but so far these clinical trials have not been successful. The goal of this project was to identify patients who have a higher activity of the complement system and might respond better to treatment with complement inhibitors, and to develop a test that can be used to identify those patients.
During this project a test was developed that can help to identify individuals with high activity of the complement system. A route to the market was explored, and it was decided to implement the test in the diagnostic laboratories of the Radboud University Medical Center. Several pharmaceutical companies have expressed interest to use the test for selecting patients for the treatment with complement inhibitors.
