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Kreissig Award Lecture highlights AMD research milestones
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LONDON — The 2014 Kreissig Award was presented to Johanna M. Seddon, MD, ScM, at the Euretina meeting here for her key contributions to research on the etiology, risk factors and mechanisms of age-related macular degeneration.
Very little was known 20 years ago when Seddon began her research on nutrition and other modifiable, environmental risk factors potentially correlated with the disease. In order to dissect the genetic and environmental components of the disease, she launched a large study that surveyed more than 12,000 twins in the U.S.
Johanna M. Seddon
“We know now that AMD is a complex disease with genetic, nutritional and other environmental components, that there are susceptible genotypes and that the manifestation of the disease may be modified by our behaviors and lifestyles,” Seddon said.
Seddon’s pioneering work revealed that a higher dietary intake of lutein and zeaxanthin could reduce the risk of AMD and opened the way to the AREDS 1 and 2 trials.
At the same time, other dietary and behavioral risk factors were investigated and found to have a significant impact on AMD, such as smoking status, body mass index and intake of food rich in omega-3 fatty acids.
The correlation between AMD and cardiovascular disease, in terms of risk factors and biomarkers, was another key-finding, which lead to the discovery of inflammation’s central role in both diseases, according to Seddon.
A healthy lifestyle, she concluded, is the best and only way to reduce the risk of AMD and its progression.
“Do not smoke. Eat a healthy diet rich in dark green leafy vegetables and low in fat, eat fish twice a week, maintain a normal weight and waist size, exercise regularly, and control blood pressure and cholesterol,” Seddon said. “With signs of AMD, lutein, zeaxanthin, vitamins A and C, and zinc supplements are recommended.”
Disclosure: Seddon receives research grants from the National Institutes of Health, Genentech and ArcticDx.