New drug to stop age-related visual impairment

New hope for people with macular degeneration

Around seven million people in Germany suffer from age-related macular degeneration. This degenerative disease of the eye is by far the most common cause of blindness and a common reason why we can always see worse with increasing age. A German research team is currently developing a drug that can stop the progressive deterioration of the eye.

Researchers at the University of Duisburg-Essen have developed a new drug that can stop the most common cause of age-related low vision and blindness. The central role is played by an enzyme that contributes significantly to the degradation of the macula. The macula, also referred to as a yellow spot, is a central area of ​​the retina, which has the largest density of sensory cells in the eye. It is essential to the sense of sight. The research team is currently developing a new drug that is designed to inhibit the responsible enzyme and thus stop macular degeneration.

In a current research project within the next three years, a drug is to be developed that the age-related visual impairment stops AMD. (Image: Sergey Nivens / fotolia.com)

Eyesight in old age could soon be a thing of the past

If letters and faces suddenly blur with age, age-related macular degeneration (AMD) may be at fault. The team around the microbiologist Professor dr. Michael Ehrmann found that the enzyme HTRA1 protease is responsible mainly for the degradation of the most important part of the retina. "Therefore, we are now trying to inhibit HTRA1 targeted to stop the progression of the disease," said the professor in a press release on the research project.

state of research

The team has already identified a number of chemical substances capable of blocking the enzyme HTRA1 protease. Now researchers are working to optimize these substances to meet all the requirements for a medical drug. "With the global population aging, we urgently need better ways to treat AMD," Ehrmann says. The research project is scheduled to be completed in three years and will be supported by the leading market competition LifeSciences.NRW with over € 900,000. (Vb)