Novel Genetic Model of Choroidal Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is easily becoming the number one cause of blindness in the world today. A major problem in finding a cure is not knowing what causes the disease and not having a good model system to use for testing a therapy.

In this study, we utilize a novel genetic model that recapitulates the blood vessel defect known as choroidal neovascularization, which refers to the new growth of fragile, leaky blood vessels seen in “wet” AMD patients. If successful, this will give us a powerful tool to identify factors that can cause this disease outcome, help us understand the disease process, and serve as a model to test therapies.