Retina-Vitreous
1993 , Vol 1 , Num 2
Age-Related Macular Degeneration
1GATA Göz Hastalıkları AD.2GATA Farmasötik Toskiloji AD. Age-related macular degeneration (AMD), is a progressive and degenerative disease of the retina pigment epithelium (RPE), Bruch's membrane and choriocapillaris. There are still debts and studies on AMD which is now recognised as the major cause of blindness in persons aged 60 years and older in the Western World. RPE dysfunction resulted from sunlight and free radical damage is suggested to be important in the pathogenesis of AMD. In this study serum levels of certain antioxidants such as selenium, zinc and copper were investigated in 50 patients with AMD and 40 controls. No significant difference was found in serum levels of copper between subjects and controls, however the differences in those of selenium and zinc between the groups were significant. These results led us to conclude that serum levels of selenium and zinc may be important in the pathogenesis of AMD. Keywords : Age-Related Macular Degeneration, Selenium, Zinc, Copper