title: Age-Related Macular Degeneration: A Disease of Systemic or Local Complement Dysregulation?
abstract: Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of irreversible blindness in developed countries. The role of complement in the development of AMD is now well-established. While some studies show evidence of complement dysregulation within the eye, others have demonstrated elevated systemic complement activation in association with AMD. It is unclear which one is the primary driver of disease. This has important implications for designing novel complement-based AMD therapies. We present a summary of the current literature and suggest that intraocular rather than systemic modulation of complement may prove more effective.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Neurosciences Research Group, Clinical and Experimental Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton SO16 6YD, UK. alasdair.warwick06@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Alasdair
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Warwick
authors.affiliation: Eye Unit, University Southampton NHS Trust, Southampton SO16 6YD, UK. sam.khandhadia@nhs.net.
authors.forename: Samir
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Khandhadia
authors.affiliation: Genomic Informatics, Human Genetics & Genomic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton SO16 6YD, UK. s.ennis@soton.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ennis
authors.affiliation: Clinical Neurosciences Research Group, Clinical and Experimental Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton SO16 6YD, UK. a.j.lotery@soton.ac.uk.|Eye Unit, University Southampton NHS Trust, Southampton SO16 6YD, UK. a.j.lotery@soton.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lotery
keywords: age-related macular degeneration; complement pathway; complement system proteins/genetics; pathway analysis; proteomics