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       #Post#: 1271--------------------------------------------------
       MS drug interferon-β as treatment for age-related macular d
       egeneration?
       By: agate Date: June 28, 2016, 8:18 pm
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       From Medical News Today, June 27, 2016:
       [quote]The multiple sclerosis drug interferon-β as
       treatment for age-related macular degeneration?
       Adapted Media Release
       Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of
       blindness among the elderly. AMD is a multifactorial disease and
       major risk factors include age, smoking, and chronic activation
       of the immune system.
       A recent preclinical study conducted in the Laboratory for
       Experimental Immunology of the Eye at the University Hospital in
       Cologne (Germany) revealed a potential new treatment form for
       AMD patients. Notably, the results of the study identified that
       interferon-β, an immunomodulatory drug that is prescribed
       to multiple sclerosis patients since the 1990s, could help to
       treat retinal inflammatory diseases such as AMD. The study was
       published in the June 2016 issue of EMBO Molecular Medicine.
       AMD occurs in two main clinical forms: the dry form with
       geographic atrophy and the exudative form. The dry form is
       characterized by accumulation of cellular debris in the
       subretinal space while the exudative form typically presents
       with neovascular processes. Anti-vascular endothelial growth
       factor (VEGF) medication is presently the gold standard for the
       treatment of choroidal neovascularization. However, nearly 30%
       of all AMD patients do not respond to anti-VEGF treatment or
       lose responsiveness after a few intra-vitreal injections.
       Moreover, inhibition of angiogenesis does not affect the
       immunological events and fails to be effective in the dry form
       of AMD.
       The researchers found that mice lacking the
       interferon-α/β receptor showed a very severe outcome
       in a laser-induced model of neovascular AMD when compared to
       control animals. Using specific genetically modified animals the
       group then identified that one single immune cell population of
       the retina, termed "microglia" were the main drivers of chronic
       inflammation and aberrant blood vessel formation.
       "We did not expect that deficiency of this immune receptor in
       microglia only would have such dramatic consequences on the
       complete retina", says the lead principal investigator Thomas
       Langmann, professor at the University Hospital of Cologne.
       Researchers then concluded that restoring of a proper retinal
       immune system could be achieved by treating the diseased animals
       with the MS drug interferon-β.
       The team indeed then found that interferon-β therapy
       significantly reduced inflammation in the retina that resulted
       in preserved vision. "Although the immunomodulatory potential of
       Interferon-β has been studied in an experimental model of
       AMD, these findings underscore its strategic promise for future
       therapeutic approaches to controlling chronic inflammation in
       AMD", says professor Langmann.
       The authors of the publication were associated with the Cologne
       Laboratory for Experimental Immunology of the Eye
       (www.expimmeye.uni-koeln.de
 (HTM) http://www.expimmeye.uni-koeln.de
       ), the Institute of
       Neuropathology in Freiburg and the TWINCORE Centre for
       Experimental and Clinical Infection Research in Hannover,
       Germany.
       _________
       Article: Interferon‐beta signaling in retinal mononuclear
       phagocytes attenuates pathological neovascularization, Lückoff
       A, Caramoy A, Scholz R, Prinz M, Kalinke U, Langmann T, EMBO
       Molecular Medicine.[/quote]
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