AUTHORS: Sohaib Fasih-Ahmad; Ziyuan Wang; Zubin Mishra; Charles Vatanatham; Mark E. Clark; Thomas A. Swain; Christine A. Curcio; Cynthia Owsley; SriniVas R. Sadda; Zhihong Jewel Hu
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a leading cause of irreversible central vision impairment worldwide and subsequently causes significant psychological and socioeconomic burden due to depression, anxiety, and difficulty reading and driving. Currently, strategies to reduce this burden focus on preventing or stabilizing end-stage neovascular and atrophic processes. However, the vast majority of individuals with AMD have early disease and there are no proven means to arrest the progression of early AMD, nor prevention strategies for those at high risk. A key barrier to developing preventative and therapeutic strategies is the lack of valid and responsive end points.