The discovery of seven new regions of the human genome
associated with macular degeneration could help scientists better understand
who reaches the most severe stages of the disorder, says a University of
Michigan researcher.
Gonçalo Abecasis, the Felix Moore Collegiate Professor of
Biostatistics at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, is one
member of an international group of researchers to make the latest discovery of
loci associated with increased risk of age-related macular degeneration, a
leading cause of blindness. The AMD Gene Consortium, a network of international
investigators representing 18 research groups, also confirmed 12 loci
identified in previous studies.