A new risk assessment model may help predict development of
advanced age-related macular degeneration, according to a report
published online by Archives of Ophthalmology, one of the
JAMA/Archives journals. Age-related macular degeneration (AMD)
is a leading cause of blindness in the United States and the
Western world, according to background information in the
article. "As progress in designing better preventive measures
and earlier treatment options accelerates and new gene
associations are identified that add to currently known risk
factors, the desirability of having a reliable risk assessment
model has become of considerable interest and potential value,"
write the authors. The model, they explain, should identify
individuals with early AMD who are at greatest risk to progress
to advanced AMD and should be able to predict when that
progression might occur. Michael L. Klein, M.D., from the Casey
Eye Institute, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, and
colleagues sought to design a risk assessment