Project Details
People with Caucasian ethnicity (white with European ancestry) have an increased risk for age-related macular degeneration (AMD). In fact, many of the currently known risk genes were discovered by studying DNA from Caucasians. Using funds from a 2011 Macular Degeneration Research grant, Drs. Tien Yin Wong, Belinda Cornes, and collaborators will further characterize the genetic risks for AMD in Asians, in the first major population-based study of its kind. They will compare the gene differences among people of three types of ethnicities (Chinese, Malay, and Indian) in Singapore, where it is possible for people from these ethnic groups to have similar socioeconomic status and environmental exposures. The discovery of new risk genes for AMD may give clues to how this disease starts and/or progresses, and such insight may lead to preventions and treatments.