Note to users. If you're seeing this message, it means that your browser cannot find this page's style/presentation instructions -- or possibly that you are using a browser that does not support current Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing, and what you can do to make your experience of our site the best it can be.

Science 10 November 2006:
Vol. 314. no. 5801, p. 889
DOI: 10.1126/science.314.5801.889i
Prev | Table of Contents | Next

This Week in Science

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a common cause of blindness in the elderly and is characterized by a breakdown of light-sensitive cells in the retina that results in progressive loss of central vision. The neovascular, or "wet," form of AMD is especially devastating for patients because vision loss is rapid. Studying a Chinese population, DeWan et al. (p. 989, published online 19 October) identified a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the HTRA1 gene that confers a greatly increased risk of developing wet AMD. The HTRA1 gene, located on chromosome 10q26, encodes a heat shock serine protease, and the SNP resides within the gene's promoter region. Yang et al. (p. 992, published online 19 October) find that the same SNP also increases AMD risk in a Caucasian population and is associated with higher expression levels of HTRA1 messenger RNA and protein. Identification of this gene may ultimately lead to improved diagnosis and treatment of AMD (see the 20 October news story by Marx).




To Advertise     Find Products

Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)