CFH and LOC387715/ARMS2 genotypes and antioxidants and zinc therapy for age-related macular degeneration

The late form of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a leading cause of irreversible vision loss in the elderly, with a complex etiology involving genetic and environmental factors. Recently, multiple distinct genetic susceptibility loci for AMD have been identified. Specifically, variations in the Complement factor H (CFH) gene as well as the LOC387715/ARMS2 gene have been shown to be strongly associated with AMD. The Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) is a large multicenter, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial that showed that a combination of zinc and antioxidants reduced progression to late-stage AMD. In the present study, the authors found that within AREDS there was a significant interaction between zinc and CFH genotypes, indicating that CFH genotypes may be predictive of treatment response to zinc supplementation.