SOUTHAMPTON scientists have discovered new genetic links to a condition that causes loss of vision as people get older, leading to hopes for new treatments.

An international study involving researchers at the University of Southampton and Southampton General Hospital has found a number of genetic factors known to play a role in age-related macular degeneration (AMD) which affects people aged 50 and older.

Professor Andrew Lotery, who led the Southampton contribution, said: “This is a landmark study which has identified 34 genes which, when faulty, increase your risk of developing this devastating disease.

“Identifying these genes is the key to understanding what causes AMD. As a result, this could open new doors to finding more efficient ways of treating this very common disease.

“AMD currently affects more than 600,000 people in the UK and 50 million individuals worldwide. This figure is expected to quadruple by 2020 and be almost 300 million by 2040.

“We urgently need new treatments to stop people spending their twilight years blind.

“Finding these genes means we can now investigate what the gene variations are doing and how they interact with each other to see how AMD is formed. This study is an amazing achievement and shows the power of having scientists all over the world working together.”

AMD is a progressive disease that causes the death of the retinal photoreceptors, the light-sensitive cells at the back of the eye. The most severe damage occurs in the macula, a small area of the retina that is needed for sharp, central vision necessary for reading, driving and other daily tasks.

Prof Lotery said AMD is caused by a combination of genetic, environmental and lifestyle risk factors, with smoking increasing the risk of AMD, while eating leafy greens and fish, such as salmon, halibut, and tuna, might reduce the risk.

Previously, researchers had identified 21 regions of the genome – called loci – which influence the risk of AMD. The new research, funded by the National Eye Institute (NEI), part of the National Institutes of Health and published in Nature Genetics, brings it up to 34 loci.

The International AMD Genomics Consortium, which includes 26 centres worldwide, and of which Southampton is one, collected and analysed genetic data from 43,566 people of predominantly European ancestry to systematically identify common and rare variations in genetic coding associated with AMD.