This campaign has now closed
Approximately 25-30 million people are affected worldwide by AMD with up to 500,000 of those in the UK. AMD involves the loss of a person’s central field of vision. With an ageing population the number affected is set to increase. Retinal cells in the eye exchange nutrients and waste products from the bloodstream via a thin membrane called Bruch’s. Ageing leads to a clogging of this membrane which prevents nutrients passing through leading to the death of visual cells. People with AMD have much elevated levels of ions in Bruch’s membrane and it is thought that this can enhance clogging. Yunhee Lee, a PhD student under the supervision of Professor John Marshall at King’s College London will evaluate the benefits of removing the ions with the aim of delaying the progression of AMD.
Categories
Beneficiaries
Situation
Fight for Sight is the largest charity in the UK dedicated to funding world-class research into the prevention and treatment of blindness and eye disease. In 2007/08 the charity committed £2.5million to new research projects. The charity funds research teams based at UK universities and hospitals and undertaking research either in the UK or overseas. The charity is a member of the Association of Medical Research Charities and research projects are chosen only after extensive international peer review. This studentship project has been chosen because of the effect AMD can have on the quality of life for so many elderly people. The project proposal has undergone an extensive international peer review process to ensure that it has been well designed and is not being duplicated elsewhere. In the absence of understanding exactly how and why the disease develops, only the later, secondary complications can be addressed, but here the current prognosis can be poor. Therapeutic procedures that can delay the progression of the disease are therefore urgently required. The cost of the project is £92,500 over 3 years.