Cookies on this website
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Continue' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

Research shows possible way to prevent degenerative eye condition

Research

An Oxford University study has found that reducing the tendency of vitamin A to form toxic clumps could slow down a condition that leads to blindness in children and young adults.

Heatmap representation of an autofluorescence photograph of the retina of a teenage girl diagnosed with Stargardt disease. The red flecks represent hyperfluorescent areas caused by materials such as vitamin A dimers. The dark blue region in the center delineates an atrophic area, indicative of central vision loss.
Heatmap representation of an autofluorescence photograph of the retina of a teenage girl diagnosed with Stargardt disease. The red flecks represent hyperfluorescent areas caused by materials such as vitamin A dimers. The dark blue region in the center delineates an atrophic area, indicative of central vision loss.

People usually associate vitamin A as being good for the eyes, but the study found that in patients with Stargardt disease, vitamin A transforms into toxic compounds, which cause chronic inflammation, premature ageing of the retina and vision loss.

Stargardt disease affects around 1 in 10,000 people and begins in childhood, leading to progressive loss of central vision. The condition is linked to defects on a gene known as ABCA4. In Stargardt disease, the light-sensitive tissue in the back of the eye - the retina - ages prematurely and granules called ‘lipofuscin’ accumulate.

Read more

Similar stories

Labelling proteins through the diet gives new insights into how collagen-rich tissues change as we age

A new study, published in eLife, uses advanced tissue analysis technology to show how the incorporation of new proteins changes in bone and cartilage with age.

Drug could help diabetic hearts recover after heart attack - Oxford research

Researchers at the University of Oxford have identified a drug that could ultimately help improve heart function in people with diabetes who have heart attacks.

Largest ever global study of tuberculosis identifies genetic causes of drug resistance

Using cutting-edge genomic sequencing techniques, researchers at the University of Oxford have identified almost all the genomic variation that gives people resistance to 13 of the most common tuberculosis (TB) drug treatments.

Researchers set out steps to address mental health effects of the pandemic on young people

Researchers have outlined 14 steps that schools, mental health services and policymakers can take to help children and young people whose mental health has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Anti-cancer drug derived from fungus shows promise in clinical trials

A new industry-academic partnership between the University of Oxford and biopharmaceutical company NuCana as found that chemotherapy drug NUC-7738, derived from a Himalayan fungus, has 40 times greater potency for killing cancer cells than its parent compound.

No benefit of convalescent plasma for critically ill COVID-19 patients

A large study of over 2000 COVID-19 patients has found that giving critically ill patients blood plasma from recovered COVID-19 patients did not significantly reduce deaths, or the need for intensive care support such as being put on a ventilator machine.