Skip Navigation

Human Molecular Genetics 2007 16(R2):R174-R182; doi:10.1093/hmg/ddm212
This Article
Right arrow Abstract Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Swaroop, A.
Right arrow Articles by Abecasis, G.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Swaroop, A.
Right arrow Articles by Abecasis, G.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© 2007 The Author(s)
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/uk/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Genetic susceptibility to age-related macular degeneration: a paradigm for dissecting complex disease traits

Anand Swaroop1,2,*, Kari EH Branham1, Wei Chen3 and Goncalo Abecasis3,*

1 Departments of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, 2 Department of Human Genetics and 3 Department of Biostatistics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48105, USA

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: swaroop{at}umich.edu; Goncalo{at}umich.edu

Received July 20, 2007; Revised July 20, 2007; Accepted July 26, 2007


   ABSTRACT
TOP
 ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
 PREVALENCE, RISK FACTORS AND...
 GENETIC STUDIES
 FUTURE DIRECTIONS
 CONCLUSIONS
 REFERENCES
 
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease, which affects quality of life for millions of elderly individuals worldwide. AMD is associated with a diverse spectrum of clinical phenotypes, all of which include the death of photoreceptors in the central part of the human retina (called the macula). Tremendous progress has been made in identifying genetic susceptibility variants for AMD. Variants at chromosome 1q32 (in the region of CFH) and 10q26 (LOC387715/ARMS2) account for a large part of the genetic risk to AMD and have been validated in numerous studies. In addition, susceptibility variants at other loci, several as yet unidentified, make substantial cumulative contribution to genetic risk for AMD; among these, multiple studies support the role of variants in APOE and C2/BF genes. Genome-wide association and re-sequencing projects, together with gene-environment interaction studies, are expected to further define the causal relationships that connect genetic variants to AMD pathogenesis and should assist in better design of prevention and intervention.


   INTRODUCTION
TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
PREVALENCE, RISK FACTORS AND...
 GENETIC STUDIES
 FUTURE DIRECTIONS
 CONCLUSIONS
 REFERENCES
 
A vast majority of common diseases are complex and multi-factorial, resulting from the interplay of genetic components and environmental factors. As no single gene or genetic variant can on its own cause the disease pathology, complexities associated with common diseases present unique challenges for management and therapy. While genetic defects have been identified for over 2000 Mendelian diseases (generally rare and affecting small population subsets) during the last two decades (Online Mendalian Inheritance in Man, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?db=OMIM), the progress towards understanding more frequent multi-factorial diseases has been painfully slow until recently. Completion of the human genome sequence and cataloging of millions of common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (1–3) have led to rapid and unprecedented advances in uncovering genetic contributions of disease susceptibility for several complex diseases, including diabetes, coronary artery disease and macular degeneration (4–9).

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is an ideal prototype of a complex and common disease trait, and genetic studies of AMD illustrate both the promise and challenges of new gene-mapping approaches. Early-onset maculopathies, such as Stargardt’s disease, have long been known to have hereditary basis. In contrast, by mid-1990s, only a handful of publications suggested role of genes in determining AMD risk (10–12), and it was difficult to convince most clinicians and scientists about the value of genetic studies. Recent investigations have not only unambiguously established the role of genetic variants in AMD pathogenesis, but have also made it feasible to uncover the role of gene–gene and gene–environment interactions for this debilitating blinding disease. In this review, we will summarize the progress in unraveling the genetic basis of AMD and present directions for future studies that can be applicable to other multi-factorial disorders.


   PREVALENCE, RISK FACTORS AND CLINICAL PHENOTYPES
TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 PREVALENCE, RISK FACTORS AND...
GENETIC STUDIES
 FUTURE DIRECTIONS
 CONCLUSIONS
 REFERENCES
 
AMD can be defined as aging-associated progressive degeneration of photoreceptors and/or retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) in the central part of the human retina (called the macula), eventually leading to the loss of central vision. It is the major cause of uncorrectable visual impairment in the elderly population of the developed countries (13–15). AMD affects over 1.7 million people in US alone, and this number is expected to reach three million by the year 2020 (13). With increased life expectancy, this devastating disease will continue to have a significant public health impact on the quality of life worldwide (16,17).

Clinical presentation of AMD is rather diverse (Fig. 1). Small and hard macular drusen occur as part of the normal aging process and do not necessarily predict the disease (18). Early stages of AMD include atrophy of the RPE (18). Large and soft drusen in the macula are identified as strong risk factors for the development of advanced forms of AMD, which include central geographic atrophy (GA) and choroidal neovascularization (CNV) (19). Advanced age and family history are the two major risk factors (20). However, a number of environmental factors can also contribute to clinical manifestations of AMD; these include smoking, vascular disease, UV exposure and nutritional status (15,20).


Figure 1
View larger version (74K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]
[Download PowerPoint slide]
  		Figure 1. Fundus pictures of: (A) Normal, 74 year old man, (B) 66 year old woman with few small drusen and RPE changes, (C) 71 year old male with extensive soft drusen, (D) 87 year old woman with GA of the RPE, (E) 75 year old woman with disciform scar due to previous neovascularization, and (F) 15 year old female with pisciform flecks associated with Stargardt’s macular degeneration.

 
For genetic studies, a clear definition of the disease status and/or phenotype is an essential aspect of the study design. The phenotypic determination of affected status of controls is equally important to the success of genetic studies. Since AMD is a widespread late-onset disease, the most effective controls are older than the typical age of onset for the disease (21). No consensus has emerged on an optimal disease classification and grading scheme. Instead, several grading systems are currently being used in different population-based and cohort-based studies (22–25). As susceptibility to distinct AMD subtypes appears to be driven by different genetic risk factors, we expect that attention to disease classification will be an important aspect of future genetic studies of AMD. In particular, we expect it will help to elucidate the molecular switches that ultimately result in distinct phenotypes for different individuals.

Population-based studies have revealed significant differences in the incidence and prevalence of AMD subtypes among different ethnic/racial groups in US (13,26–29), Europe (30,31), and Australia (32,33). Specifically, pooled results from several studies reveal that white individuals of European ancestry have a higher age-adjusted risk of developing AMD than individuals of more recent African ancestry (13). A lower prevalence of AMD is also suggested in populations from China and Japan compared to whites (34,35). However, a pilot study has demonstrated similar prevalence of late AMD in populations from India and Europe (36). At this stage, it is unclear if these population differences are due to genetic or environmental factors, or both. Nevertheless, clear differences in disease prevalence between ethnic groups emphasize the importance of design of genetic studies (37,38).


   GENETIC STUDIES
TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 PREVALENCE, RISK FACTORS AND...
 GENETIC STUDIES
FUTURE DIRECTIONS
 CONCLUSIONS
 REFERENCES
 
Dissecting the genetic basis of AMD using linkage analysis has presented several challenges, particularly, because of the difficulty in collecting large multi-generational families or even small pedigrees with multiple affected sib-pairs that are more readily available for the study of diseases with an earlier age of onset. Some of the early suggestions of genetic predisposition originated from familial aggregation studies. For example, a high concordance of disease phenotype was observed in monozygotic twins (11,39–41). A higher incidence of AMD was also reported in first-degree relatives of affected probands versus controls (10,42). Overall, siblings of individuals with AMD have a three to six-fold increase in disease risk (10,42,43). These initial studies established the need for further genetic evaluation of AMD.

Linkage analysis
Genetic linkage studies search for regions of chromosome that are shared between closely related affected individuals. Since close relatives share relatively long stretches of chromosome, linkage studies can survey the whole genome with only a few hundred micro-satellite markers or a few thousand SNPs. Such analyses have proven extremely effective in the dissection of Mendelian traits (44). Although the results of linkage studies for other complex diseases have been relatively disappointing (45), such investigations have overall been quite successful for AMD. The first report of linkage in a large family (10 affected individuals) with the dry form of AMD exhibiting autosomal dominant inheritance identified a genetic locus (ARMD1) at chromosome 1q25–q31 (LOD score 3.0) (46). As large AMD families are difficult to obtain due to the late age of disease-onset and their analysis may be complicated by phenocopy effects, the majority of subsequent linkage studies utilized the affected sib-pair or relative-pair design; these investigations have implicated several regions of the genome as harboring susceptibility loci with potentially major or minor contributions to AMD (Fig. 2) (47–55). The chromosomal regions at 1q31–32 and 10q26 were identified in several independent studies and confirmed by meta-analysis of six datasets (56). As noted below, these regions harbor the largest effect susceptibility variants for AMD, identified to date.


Figure 2
View larger version (27K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]
[Download PowerPoint slide]
  		Figure 2. Compilation of results of previous linkage studies, showing chromosomal regions harboring potential AMD susceptibility loci.

 
Association studies
Contrary to linkage studies, which entail only a coarse measurement of genetic variation, association analysis requires more detailed measurements with hundreds of thousands of markers to cover the genome (1,57,58). Due to technical limitations, until recently, genetic association studies have been limited to the study of candidate genes. Even within these limited regions, most association studies generally examined only a subset of all genetic variants, making it difficult to interpret negative results.

For macular degeneration, the first association studies explored the genes associated with rare monogenic macular diseases, whose clinical phenotypes overlap with AMD but typically have an earlier age of onset (59). These genes included RDS/peripherin (associated with retinitis pigmentosa, adult-onset vitelliform macular dystrophy, butterfly dystrophy, and bulls-eye maculopathy) (60), TIMP3 (mutated in Sorsby’s Fundus Dystrophy) (61), EFEMP1 (responsible for Doyne Honeycomb retinal dystrophy) (62), VMD2 (for Best’s Macular Degeneration) (63,64), and ELOVL4 (associated with Stargardt-like macular dystrophy) (65). To date, these studies have not yielded any striking genetic associations with AMD. However, with advances in genotype and re-sequencing technologies that allow genetic association studies to examine larger numbers of individuals in greater detail, we may need to re-assess the impact of these genes on AMD.

Motivated by phenotypic similarities between Stargardt disease and AMD (Fig. 1F), multiple association studies have been performed on the gene responsible for the majority of cases of Stargardt disease, the ABCA4 gene. Several of these have indicated an association of AMD with certain missense changes in ABCA4 (notably D2177N and G1961E) (66,67), although there are also negative reports (68–70). At this stage, the ABCA4 variants do not seem to make a major contribution to AMD susceptibility.

Among candidates examined in single gene studies, APOE exhibits the clearest association with AMD. APOE is involved in transport and metabolism of lipid and cholesterol and in the response to neuronal injury (reviewed by Mahley and Rall, 71). APOE has three common alleles, {varepsilon}2, {varepsilon}3 and {varepsilon}4. Initially, two studies reported a reduction in the frequency of the {varepsilon}4 allele in patients with AMD compared to controls, suggesting a protective effect (72,73). In addition, {varepsilon}2 allele frequency was increased in AMD patients compared to controls (72). The association between APOE and AMD has now been replicated by several independent reports (74–76) though at least in one instance no association was obtained (77). Our meta-analysis of published studies provides relatively strong evidence of association between APOE {varepsilon}4 allele and AMD susceptibility (Table 1). These findings differ somewhat from those of a previous meta-analysis, which analyzed pooled data across studies (78). Meta-analysis, rather than analysis of pooled data, is more appropriate when allele frequencies differ across populations.


View this table:
[in this window]
[in a new window]

  		Table 1. A summary of conclusions from meta-analysis of established associations (three or more published reports) between AMD and genetic variants

 
Chromosomal regions at 1q32 and 10q26
A pioneering discovery was made by Josephine Hoh and colleagues when they executed a genome-wide association study with ~100 000 SNPs in a small case-control sample; the results of this initial scan and their subsequent follow-up identified strong association between Y402H variant in the Complement Factor H (CFH) gene and increased risk of AMD (9). Concurrently, other groups obtained similar results using distinct approaches and replicated the findings (9,79–82). A meta-analysis combining results from multiple association studies of CFH and AMD indicate that heterozygote carriers of the risk allele have a 2.5-fold increase in developing AMD and homozygous carriers have a six-fold increase in developing AMD compared to the non-risk allele (83). Again, as noted in Table 1, the consensus of studies published to date provides compelling evidence for association between this SNP and AMD in populations of European descent.

While initial studies of the association between CFH and macular degeneration focused on the Y402H variant, recent investigations have examined the region more broadly. For example, Li et al. (84). evaluated 84 polymorphisms in and around CFH and demonstrated that 20 of these exhibited stronger association with disease susceptibility than the Y402H variant. Furthermore, no single SNP itself accounted for the contribution of the CFH locus to AMD. Instead, multiple polymorphisms defined a set of four common haplotypes (two associated with disease susceptibility and two protective) and multiple rare haplotypes (associated with increased susceptibility in aggregate). These results suggest multiple susceptibility alleles in the region, with non-coding CFH variants playing a key role in determining disease risk. These studies were confirmed in a companion paper, which also showed that non-coding variants in and around CFH appear to impact AMD independently of the Y402H variant (85). Further complexity came from the association of a deletion in CFH-like nearby genes (CFHR1 and CFHR3) with disease susceptibility (86). Overall, the current data suggest that identifying causal variants in a complex disease may be quite challenging and that, potentially, regulatory variants may have effects that are as important—or perhaps even more important—than the coding variants or loss of function mutations that are generally associated with Mendelian disorders.

The strong association between CFH and AMD sparked renewed interest in the complement pathway. It is now clear that polymorphism in the C2 and BF genes are also associated with disease (85,87) (unpublished data from our lab; Table 1) and it is tempting to speculate that careful assessment of other complement genes will uncover further novel associations.

Similar to the 1q32 region, chromosome 10q26 shows convincing evidence of linkage both in individual studies (54) and in a meta-analysis of several published reports (56). Fine-mapping efforts by a number of groups have yielded convincing evidence of association at two neighboring genes, PLEKHA1 and LOC387715 (88–90), which has been replicated (85). More recently, a genome-wide association scan also provides evidence of association between AMD susceptibility and this region (91,92), and implicates another gene, HTRA1, in AMD pathogenesis. These three genes are in linkage disequilibrium with each other, and association to this cluster has now been replicated in several studies (93–97) (Table 1). In an attempt to disentangle the relationship between polymorphisms in the region and AMD susceptibility, we recently examined 45 SNPs in the region (98). In contrast to fine-mapping efforts within the CFH locus (84) suggesting multiple susceptibility variants, our data show that a single coding variant in the LOC387715 gene (now called ARMS2)—rs10490924—can account for the association between other SNPs in the region and macular degeneration. All other examined variants revealed significantly weaker association and could not account for the effect of rs10490924. The data illustrate the challenges in interpreting association study results when the implicated region includes multiple genes in linkage disequilibrium or multiple functional candidates. It is tempting to speculate that the identity of the gene responsible in the 10q26 region will be further elucidated by future association studies that implicate PLEKHA1-like, LOC387715-like or HTRA1-like genes in disease susceptibility.

To date, variants in the CFH region at chromosome 1q32 and in the PLEKHA1 / LOC387715 / HTRA1 region at 10q26 have demonstrated the strongest replicable association with AMD. Variants in the APOE, C2 and BF genes also show replicable, but smaller, association with AMD across studies and contribute to disease susceptibility. The results of several additional reports [e.g. CST3 (99), CX3CR1 (100), TLR4 (101), fibulin 5 (102), VEGF (103)] are encouraging; however, in our opinion, none of these have achieved the level of evidence required to produce broad scientific consensus.


   FUTURE DIRECTIONS
TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 PREVALENCE, RISK FACTORS AND...
 GENETIC STUDIES
 FUTURE DIRECTIONS
CONCLUSIONS
 REFERENCES
 
A complete dissection of the genetic basis of AMD
Siblings of individuals with AMD have three to six-fold higher risk of disease compared to individuals from the population at large. Individually, the genetic variants at the chromosome 1q32 (CFH) and 10q26 (LOC387715/ARMS2) regions correspond to an increase in risk to siblings of only ~1.2 to 1.6-fold (84,98). It is very likely that additional susceptibility loci and variants remain to be identified, and several promising approaches are now available to do so. Using new high-throughput re-sequencing platforms, it will be possible to comprehensively search for new susceptibility variants in previously identified loci (104). Additional genome-wide association scans that examine larger numbers of individuals are also likely to point to new loci that were missed in earlier smaller scans—as happened in the case of Crohn’s disease (6,105,106) and diabetes (4,5,8,107). Candidate gene studies that focus on those identified in the initial studies (e.g. additional genes in the complement pathway) are likely to be promising and have already resulted in some success (87). Finally, it will be possible to take advantage of the ability to examine large numbers of individuals to carefully evaluate the role of gene–gene and gene–environment interactions and examine their contributions to disease risk.

Genome-wide association
In our view, one step that is likely to lead to additional AMD susceptibility variants will be to undertake genome-wide association studies using higher density panels that provide better coverage of the genome (108) and that examine larger number of individuals. Although larger sample sizes will always provide more power and improve the chance of new discoveries, one cost-effective option is to use a few large case-control cohorts for initial screening of 100 000s of variants, followed by detailed examination of the positive genomic regions in additional cohorts (109). Such large genome-wide scans will have profound impact on revealing a more complete genetic picture of AMD susceptibility, as demonstrated recently by 500K SNP examination of 17 000 genomes evaluated for seven common diseases (6).

Re-sequencing of selected regions
Genome-wide association studies are designed to identify common SNPs that may only increase the risk of disease by a modest amount. Since they are common, these variants can nevertheless explain a substantial fraction of disease risk in the population. However, many variations will be missed in such scans, especially rare ones that are not well tagged by the common variants, which account for the bulk of SNPs in commercial genotyping panels. Identification of rare variants with impact on disease susceptibility can be accomplished by re-sequencing the associated gene regions in a large population. This approach has been successfully used for finding coding variants in the adipokine gene that is associated with plasma triglyceride levels (110). The targeted population re-sequencing strategy could help identify genetic variants associated with AMD if it is applied to known susceptibility loci, such as the regions surrounding CFH and LOC387715/ARMS2, and other promising genomic regions (such as the genes in the complement pathway or HLA region).


   CONCLUSIONS
TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 PREVALENCE, RISK FACTORS AND...
 GENETIC STUDIES
 FUTURE DIRECTIONS
 CONCLUSIONS
REFERENCES
 
Further dissection of genetic susceptibility and the possible interactions between variants and environmental factors (such as smoking and nutrition) will be essential for elucidating mechanisms of disease pathology. Association studies have provided valuable insights into the general location of genetic differences that influence susceptibility to AMD. Currently, we can confidently point to variants in the CFH region (at chromosome 1q32) and in LOC387715/ARMS2 (at chromosome 10q26) among the major contributors. A role in disease susceptibility is also strongly supported by the available evidence for variants in the APOE and C2/BF genes. Many other genetic variants have been implicated but only in a small number reports, and a definite conclusion about their impact on disease susceptibility is not yet possible. Nevertheless, with all the genetic findings, it may soon be possible to provide pre-symptomatic diagnosis with reasonable accuracy, leading to better disease management strategies for high-risk individuals.

We must, however, mention three points of caution and/or consideration. (i) We should be aware of the difference between susceptibility and causality. For complex diseases, association (even strong) of gene variants to disease does not represent a causal relationship as the presence of no single sequence variation can lead to clinical pathology. A number of individuals carrying high-risk Y402H allele of CFH and/or other haplotypes may never develop macular degeneration phenotype. (ii) We still have no clear understanding of the early steps in disease manifestation. Numerous studies indicate RPE as the primary site of disease initiation, with death of photoreceptors caused by RPE dysfunction selectively in the macula (111). Oxidative stress, inflammatory pathways, mitochondria-associated cellular processes have also been implicated in AMD pathogenesis (112–114). Animal models are required to delineate the underlying pathway(s) and discover treatments; several mouse models manifesting at least a part of the AMD disease spectrum have been reported (115,116). Further investigations are necessary to correlate risk or protective variants in associated genes to AMD pathology. (iii) Like other complex diseases, the environment is expected to play a key role in triggering AMD. We are beginning to decipher the role of some of the factors (such as smoking); yet, much work remains. A better assessment of gene–environment interaction will require larger well-phenotyped AMD population cohorts and allow opportunities for comprehensive planning of disease prevention and treatment.


   ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
 
We thank John Heckenlively and Stephen Saxe for clinical insights and study subject photographs; Mohammad Othman and Atsuhiro Kanda for productive discussions; Ritu Khanna for assistance with figures and databases; and Sharyn Ferrara for administrative support. This research was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health, The Foundation Fighting Blindness (FFB), the Elmer and Sylvia Sramek Foundation, Thompson Foundation, and Research to Prevent Blindness (RPB). A.S. is Harold F. Falls Collegiate Professor and a recipient of RPB Senior Scientific Investigator award. G.R.A. is a Pew Scholar for the Biomedical Sciences. Funding to pay the Open Access publication charges for this article was provided by a grant from National Institutes of Health, EY 016862.

Conflict of Interest statement. None declared.


   REFERENCES
TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 PREVALENCE, RISK FACTORS AND...
 GENETIC STUDIES
 FUTURE DIRECTIONS
 CONCLUSIONS
 REFERENCES
 

  1. The International HapMap Consortium. A haplotype map of the human genome. Nature (2005) 437:1299–1320.[CrossRef][Medline]

  2. Lander E.S., Linton L.M., Birren B., Nusbaum C., Zody M.C., Baldwin J., Devon K., Dewar K., Doyle M., FitzHugh W., et al. Initial sequencing and analysis of the human genome. Nature (2001) 409:860–921.[CrossRef][Medline]

  3. Venter J.C., Adams M.D., Myers E.W., Li P.W., Mural R.J., Sutton G.G., Smith H.O., Yandell M., Evans C.A., Holt R.A., et al. The sequence of the human genome. Science (2001) 291:1304–1351.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

  4. Saxena R., Voight B.F., Lyssenko V., Burtt N.P., de Bakker P.I., Chen H., Roix J.J., Kathiresan S., Hirschhorn J.N., Daly M.J., et al. Genome-wide association analysis identifies loci for type 2 diabetes and triglyceride levels. Science (2007) 316:1331–1336.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

  5. Scott L.J., Mohlke K.L., Bonnycastle L.L., Willer C.J., Li Y., Duren W.L., Erdos M.R., Stringham H.M., Chines P.S., Jackson A.U., et al. A genome-wide association study of type 2 diabetes in Finns detects multiple susceptibility variants. Science (2007) 316:1341–1345.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

  6. The Welcome Trust Case Control Consortium. Genome-wide association study of 14,000 cases of seven common diseases and 3,000 shared controls. Nature (2007) 447:661–678.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]

  7. McPherson R., Pertsemlidis A., Kavaslar N., Stewart A., Roberts R., Cox D.R., Hinds D.A., Pennacchio L.A., Tybjaerg-Hansen A., Folsom A.R., et al. A common allele on chromosome 9 associated with coronary heart disease. Science (2007) 316:1488–1491.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

  8. Zeggini E., Weedon M.N., Lindgren C.M., Frayling T.M., Elliott K.S., Lango H., Timpson N.J., Perry J.R., Rayner N.W., Freathy R.M., et al. Replication of genome-wide association signals in UK samples reveals risk loci for type 2 diabetes. Science (2007) 316:1336–1341.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

  9. Klein R.J., Zeiss C., Chew E.Y., Tsai J.Y., Sackler R.S., Haynes C., Henning A.K., Sangiovanni J.P., Mane S.M., Mayne S.T., et al. Complement factor H polymorphism in age-related macular degeneration. Science (2005) 308:385–389.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

  10. Seddon J.M., Ajani U.A., Mitchell B.D. Familial aggregation of age-related maculopathy. Am. J. Ophthalmol. (1997) 123:199–206.[Web of Science][Medline]

  11. Meyers S.M. A twin study on age-related macular degeneration. Trans. Am. Ophthalmol. Soc. (1994) 92:775–843.[Medline]

  12. Silvestri G., Johnston P.B., Hughes A.E. Is genetic predisposition an important risk factor in age-related macular degeneration? Eye (1994) 8(Pt 5):564–568.[Web of Science][Medline]

  13. Friedman D.S., O’Colmain B.J., Munoz B., Tomany S.C., McCarty C., de Jong P.T., Nemesure B., Mitchell P., Kempen J. Prevalence of age-related macular degeneration in the United States. Arch. Ophthalmol. (2004) 122:564–572.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

  14. Klaver C.C., Assink J.J., van Leeuwen R., Wolfs R.C., Vingerling J.R., Stijnen T., Hofman A., de Jong P.T. Incidence and progression rates of age-related maculopathy: the Rotterdam Study. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. (2001) 42:2237–2241.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

  15. Klein R., Peto T., Bird A., Vannewkirk M.R. The epidemiology of age-related macular degeneration. Am. J. Ophthalmol. (2004) 137:486–495.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]

  16. Hassell J.B., Lamoureux E.L., Keeffe J.E. Impact of age related macular degeneration on quality of life. Br. J. Ophthalmol. (2006) 90:593–596.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

  17. Lotery A.J., Xu X., Zlatava G., Loftus J. Burden of illness, visual impairment, and health resource utilization of patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration: results from the united kingdom cohort of a five-country cross-sectional study. In: Br. J. Ophthalmol (2007) doi: 10.1136/bjo.2007.116939.

  18. Bressler S., Rosberger D. Nonneovascular (nonexudative) age-related macular degeneration. In: Retina-Vitreous-Macula—Guyer D., Yannuzzi L., Chang S., Shields J., Green W.R., eds. (1999) 1. WB Saunders Co. 79–93.

  19. Klein R., Klein B.E., Jensen S.C., Meuer S.M. The five-year incidence and progression of age-related maculopathy: the Beaver Dam Eye Study. Ophthalmology (1997) 104:7–21.[Web of Science][Medline]

  20. Evans J.R. Risk factors for age-related macular degeneration. Prog. Retin. Eye Res. (2001) 20:227–253.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]

  21. Morton N.E., Collins A. Tests and estimates of allelic association in complex inheritance. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA (1998) 95:11389–11393.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

  22. Age-Related Eye Disease Study Research Group. A randomized, placebo-controlled, clinical trial of high-dose supplementation with vitamins C and E and beta carotene for age-related cataract and vision loss: AREDS report no. 9. Arch. Ophthalmol. (2001) 119:1439–1452.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

  23. Bird A.C., Bressler N.M., Bressler S.B., Chisholm I.H., Coscas G., Davis M.D., de Jong P.T., Klaver C.C., Klein B.E., Klein R., et al. An international classification and grading system for age-related maculopathy and age-related macular degeneration. The International ARM Epidemiological Study Group. Surv. Ophthalmol. (1995) 39:367–374.[Web of Science][Medline]

  24. Klein R., Davis M.D., Magli Y.L., Segal P., Klein B.E., Hubbard L. The Wisconsin age-related maculopathy grading system. Ophthalmology (1991) 98:1128–1134.[Web of Science][Medline]

  25. Seddon J.M., Sharma S., Adelman R.A. Evaluation of the clinical age-related maculopathy staging system. Ophthalmology (2006) 113:260–266.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]

  26. Klein R., Klein B.E., Jensen S.C., Mares-Perlman J.A., Cruickshanks K.J., Palta M. Age-related maculopathy in a multiracial United States population: the national health and nutrition examination survey III. Ophthalmology (1999) 106:1056–1065.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]

  27. Klein R., Klein B.E., Cruickshanks K.J. The prevalence of age-related maculopathy by geographic region and ethnicity. Prog. Retin. Eye Res. (1999) 18:371–389.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]

  28. Klein R., Klein B.E., Knudtson M.D., Wong T.Y., Cotch M.F., Liu K., Burke G., Saad M.F., Jacobs D.R. Jr. Prevalence of age-related macular degeneration in 4 racial/ethnic groups in the multi-ethnic study of atherosclerosis. Ophthalmology (2006) 113:373–380.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]

  29. Klein R., Klein B.E., Marino E.K., Kuller L.H., Furberg C., Burke G.L., Hubbard L.D. Early age-related maculopathy in the cardiovascular health study. Ophthalmology (2003) 110:25–33.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]

  30. Klaver C.C., Wolfs R.C., Vingerling J.R., Hofman A., de Jong P.T. Age-specific prevalence and causes of blindness and visual impairment in an older population: the Rotterdam Study. Arch. Ophthalmol. (1998) 116:653–658.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

  31. Vingerling J.R., Dielemans I., Hofman A., Grobbee D.E., Hijmering M., Kramer C.F., de Jong P.T. The prevalence of age-related maculopathy in the Rotterdam Study. Ophthalmology (1995) 102:205–210.[Web of Science][Medline]

  32. Mitchell P., Smith W., Attebo K., Wang J.J. Prevalence of age-related maculopathy in Australia. The Blue Mountains Eye Study. Ophthalmology (1995) 102:1450–1460.[Web of Science][Medline]

  33. VanNewkirk M.R., Nanjan M.B., Wang J.J., Mitchell P., Taylor H.R., McCarty C.A. The prevalence of age-related maculopathy: the visual impairment project. Ophthalmology (2000) 107:1593–1600.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]

  34. Li Y., Xu L., Jonas J.B., Yang H., Ma Y., Li J. Prevalence of age-related maculopathy in the adult population in China: the Beijing eye study. Am. J. Ophthalmol. (2006) 142:788–793.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]

  35. Oshima Y., Ishibashi T., Murata T., Tahara Y., Kiyohara Y., Kubota T. Prevalence of age related maculopathy in a representative Japanese population: the Hisayama study. Br. J. Ophthalmol. (2001) 85:1153–1157.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

  36. Gupta S.K., Murthy G.V., Morrison N., Price G.M., Dherani M., John N., Fletcher A.E., Chakravarthy U. Prevalence of early and late age-related macular degeneration in a rural population in northern India: the INDEYE feasibility study. Inves. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. (2007) 48:1007–1011.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

  37. Pritchard J.K., Rosenberg N.A. Use of unlinked genetic markers to detect population stratification in association studies. Am. J. Hum. Genet. (1999) 65:220–228.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]

  38. Devlin B., Roeder K. Genomic control for association studies. Biometrics (1999) 55:997–1004.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]

  39. Grizzard S.W., Arnett D., Haag S.L. Twin study of age-related macular degeneration. Ophthalmic Epidemiol. (2003) 10:315–322.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]

  40. Hammond C.J., Webster A.R., Snieder H., Bird A.C., Gilbert C.E., Spector T.D. Genetic influence on early age-related maculopathy: a twin study. Ophthalmology (2002) 109:730–736.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]

  41. Klein M.L., Mauldin W.M., Stoumbos V.D. Heredity and age-related macular degeneration. Observations in monozygotic twins. Arch. Ophthalmol. (1994) 112:932–937.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

  42. Klaver C.C., Wolfs R.C., Assink J.J., van Duijn C.M., Hofman A., de Jong P.T. Genetic risk of age-related maculopathy. Population-based familial aggregation study. Arch. Ophthalmol. (1998) 116:1646–1651.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

  43. Heiba I.M., Elston R.C., Klein B.E., Klein R. Sibling correlations and segregation analysis of age-related maculopathy: the Beaver Dam Eye Study. Genet. Epidemiol. (1994) 11:51–67.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]

  44. Botstein D., Risch N. Discovering genotypes underlying human phenotypes: past successes for mendelian disease, future approaches for complex disease. Nat. Genet. (2003) 33:228–237.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]

  45. Lernmark A., Ott J. Sometimes it’s hot, sometimes it’s not. Nat. Genet. (1998) 19:213–214.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]

  46. Klein M.L., Schultz D.W., Edwards A., Matise T.C., Rust K., Berselli C.B., Trzupek K., Weleber R.G., Ott J., Wirtz M.K., et al. Age-related macular degeneration. Clinical features in a large family and linkage to chromosome 1q. Arch. Ophthalmol. (1998) 116:1082–1088.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

  47. Majewski J., Schultz D.W., Weleber R.G., Schain M.B., Edwards A.O., Matise T.C., Acott T.S., Ott J., Klein M.L. Age-related macular degeneration – a genome scan in extended families. Am. J. Hum. Genet. (2003) 73:540–550.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]

  48. Schick J.H., Iyengar S.K., Klein B.E., Klein R., Reading K., Liptak R., Millard C., Lee K.E., Tomany S.C., Moore E.L., et al. A whole-genome screen of a quantitative trait of age-related maculopathy in sibships from the Beaver Dam Eye Study. Am. J. Hum. Genet. (2003) 72:1412–1424.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]

  49. Seddon J.M., Santangelo S.L., Book K., Chong S., Cote J. A genomewide scan for age-related macular degeneration provides evidence for linkage to several chromosomal regions. Am. J. Hum. Genet. (2003) 73:780–790.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]

  50. Abecasis G.R., Yashar B.M., Zhao Y., Ghiasvand N.M., Zareparsi S., Branham K.E., Reddick A.C., Trager E.H., Yoshida S., Bahling J., et al. Age-related macular degeneration: a high-resolution genome scan for susceptibility loci in a population enriched for late-stage disease. Am. J. Hum. Genet. (2004) 74:482–494.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]

  51. Iyengar S.K., Song D., Klein B.E., Klein R., Schick J.H., Humphrey J., Millard C., Liptak R., Russo K., Jun G., et al. Dissection of genomewide-scan data in extended families reveals a major locus and oligogenic susceptibility for age-related macular degeneration. Am. J. Hum. Genet. (2004) 74:20–39.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]

  52. Kenealy S.J., Schmidt S., Agarwal A., Postel E.A., De La Paz M.A., Pericak-Vance M.A., Haines J.L. Linkage analysis for age-related macular degeneration supports a gene on chromosome 10q26. Mol. Vis. (2004) 10:57–61.[Web of Science][Medline]

  53. Schmidt S., Scott W.K., Postel E.A., Agarwal A., Hauser E.R., De La Paz M.A., Gilbert J.R., Weeks D.E., Gorin M.B., Haines J.L., et al. Ordered subset linkage analysis supports a susceptibility locus for age-related macular degeneration on chromosome 16p12. BMC Genet. (2004) 5:18.[CrossRef][Medline]

  54. Weeks D.E., Conley Y.P., Tsai H.J., Mah T.S., Schmidt S., Postel E.A., Agarwal A., Haines J.L., Pericak-Vance M.A., Rosenfeld P.J., et al. Age-related maculopathy: a genomewide scan with continued evidence of susceptibility loci within the 1q31, 10q26, and 17q25 regions. Am. J. Hum. Genet. (2004) 75:174–189.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]

  55. Barral S., Francis P.J., Schultz D.W., Schain M.B., Haynes C., Majewski J., Ott J., Acott T., Weleber R.G., Klein M.L. Expanded genome scan in extended families with age-related macular degeneration. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. (2006) 47:5453–5459.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

  56. Fisher S.A., Abecasis G.R., Yashar B.M., Zareparsi S., Swaroop A., Iyengar S.K., Klein B.E., Klein R., Lee K.E., Majewski J., et al. Meta-analysis of genome scans of age-related macular degeneration. Hum. Mol. Genet. (2005) 14:2257–2264.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

  57. The International HapMap Consortium. The International HapMap Project. Nature (2003) 426:789–796.[CrossRef][Medline]

  58. Risch N., Merikangas K. The future of genetic studies of complex human diseases. Science (1996) 273:1516–1517.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

  59. Stone E.M., Sheffield V.C., Hageman G.S. Molecular genetics of age-related macular degeneration. Hum. Mol. Genet. (2001) 10:2285–2292.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

  60. Baird P.N., Richardson A., Islam A., Lim L., Guymer R. Analysis of the RDS/peripherin gene in age-related macular degeneration. Clin. Experiment. Ophthalmol. (2007) 35:194–195.[Web of Science][Medline]

  61. De La Paz M.A., Pericak-Vance M.A., Lennon F., Haines J.L., Seddon J.M. Exclusion of TIMP3 as a candidate locus in age-related macular degeneration. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. (1997) 38:1060–1065.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

  62. Stone E.M., Lotery A.J., Munier F.L., Heon E., Piguet B., Guymer R.H., Vandenburgh K., Cousin P., Nishimura D., Swiderski R.E., et al. A single EFEMP1 mutation associated with both Malattia Leventinese and Doyne honeycomb retinal dystrophy. Nat. Genet. (1999) 22:199–202.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]

  63. Lotery A.J., Munier F.L., Fishman G.A., Weleber R.G., Jacobson S.G., Affatigato L.M., Nichols B.E., Schorderet D.F., Sheffield V.C., Stone E.M. Allelic variation in the VMD2 gene in best disease and age-related macular degeneration. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. (2000) 41:1291–1296.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

  64. Allikmets R., Seddon J.M., Bernstein P.S., Hutchinson A., Atkinson A., Sharma S., Gerrard B., Li W., Metzker M.L., Wadelius C., et al. Evaluation of the Best disease gene in patients with age-related macular degeneration and other maculopathies. Hum. Genet. (1999) 104:449–453.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]

  65. Ayyagari R., Zhang K., Hutchinson A., Yu Z., Swaroop A., Kakuk L.E., Seddon J.M., Bernstein P.S., Lewis R.A., Tammur J., et al. Evaluation of the ELOVL4 gene in patients with age-related macular degeneration. Ophthalmic. Genet. (2001) 22:233–239.[CrossRef][Medline]

  66. Allikmets R. Further evidence for an association of ABCR alleles with age-related macular degeneration. The International ABCR Screening Consortium. Am. J. Hum. Genet. (2000) 67:487–491.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]

  67. Allikmets R., Shroyer N.F., Singh N., Seddon J.M., Lewis R.A., Bernstein P.S., Peiffer A., Zabriskie N.A., Li Y., Hutchinson A., et al. Mutation of the Stargardt disease gene (ABCR) in age-related macular degeneration. Science (1997) 277:1805–1807.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

  68. Rivera A., White K., Stohr H., Steiner K., Hemmrich N., Grimm T., Jurklies B., Lorenz B., Scholl H.P., Apfelstedt-Sylla E., et al. A comprehensive survey of sequence variation in the ABCA4 (ABCR) gene in Stargardt disease and age-related macular degeneration. Am. J. Hum. Genet. (2000) 67:800–813.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]

  69. Schmidt S., Postel E.A., Agarwal A., Allen I.C. Jr, Walters S.N., De la Paz M.A., Scott W.K., Haines J.L., Pericak-Vance M.A., Gilbert J.R. Detailed analysis of allelic variation in the ABCA4 gene in age-related maculopathy. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. (2003) 44:2868–2875.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

  70. Stone E.M., Webster A.R., Vandenburgh K., Streb L.M., Hockey R.R., Lotery A.J., Sheffield V.C. Allelic variation in ABCR associated with Stargardt disease but not age-related macular degeneration. Nat. Genet. (1998) 20:328–329.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]

  71. Mahley R.W., Rall S.C. Jr. Apolipoprotein E: far more than a lipid transport protein. Annu. Rev. Genomics Hum. Genet. (2000) 1:507–537.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]

  72. Klaver C.C., Kliffen M., van Duijn C.M., Hofman A., Cruts M., Grobbee D.E., van Broeckhoven C., de Jong P.T. Genetic association of apolipoprotein E with age-related macular degeneration. Am. J. Hum. Genet. (1998) 63:200–206.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]

  73. Souied E.H., Benlian P., Amouyel P., Feingold J., Lagarde J.P., Munnich A., Kaplan J., Coscas G., Soubrane G. The epsilon4 allele of the apolipoprotein E gene as a potential protective factor for exudative age-related macular degeneration. Am. J. Ophthalmol. (1998) 125:353–359.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]

  74. Schmidt S., Klaver C., Saunders A., Postel E., De La Paz M., Agarwal A., Small K., Udar N., Ong J., Chalukya M., et al. A pooled case-control study of the apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene in age-related maculopathy. Ophthalmic. Genet. (2002) 23:209–223.[CrossRef][Medline]

  75. Baird P.N., Guida E., Chu D.T., Vu H.T., Guymer R.H. The epsilon2 and epsilon4 alleles of the apolipoprotein gene are associated with age-related macular degeneration. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. (2004) 45:1311–1315.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

  76. Zareparsi S., Reddick A.C., Branham K.E., Moore K.B., Jessup L., Thoms S., Smith-Wheelock M., Yashar B.M., Swaroop A. Association of apolipoprotein E alleles with susceptibility to age-related macular degeneration in a large cohort from a single center. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. (2004) 45:1306–1310.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

  77. Schultz D.W., Klein M.L., Humpert A., Majewski J., Schain M., Weleber R.G., Ott J., Acott T.S. Lack of an association of apolipoprotein E gene polymorphisms with familial age-related macular degeneration. Arch. Ophthalmol. (2003) 121:679–683.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

  78. Thakkinstian A., Bowe S., McEvoy M., Smith W., Attia J. Association between apolipoprotein E polymorphisms and age-related macular degeneration: A HuGE review and meta-analysis. Am. J. Epidemiol. (2006) 164:813–822.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

  79. Edwards A.O., Ritter R. III, Abel K.J., Manning A., Panhuysen C., Farrer L.A. Complement factor H polymorphism and age-related macular degeneration. Science (2005) 308:421–424.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

  80. Haines J.L., Hauser M.A., Schmidt S., Scott W.K., Olson L.M., Gallins P., Spencer K.L., Kwan S.Y., Noureddine M., Gilbert J.R., et al. Complement factor H variant increases the risk of age-related macular degeneration. Science (2005) 308:419–421.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

  81. Hageman G.S., Anderson D.H., Johnson L.V., Hancox L.S., Taiber A.J., Hardisty L.I., Hageman J.L., Stockman H.A., Borchardt J.D., Gehrs K.M., et al. A common haplotype in the complement regulatory gene factor H (HF1/CFH) predisposes individuals to age-related macular degeneration. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA (2005) 102:7227–7232.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

  82. Zareparsi S., Branham K.E., Li M., Shah S., Klein R.J., Ott J., Hoh J., Abecasis G.R., Swaroop A. Strong association of the Y402H variant in complement factor H at 1q32 with susceptibility to age-related macular degeneration. Am. J. Hum. Genet. (2005) 77:149–153.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]

  83. Thakkinstian A., Han P., McEvoy M., Smith W., Hoh J., Magnusson K., Zhang K., Attia J. Systematic review and meta-analysis of the association between complement factor H Y402H polymorphisms and age-related macular degeneration. Hum. Mol. Genet. (2006) 15:2784–2790.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

  84. Li M., Atmaca-Sonmez P., Othman M., Branham K.E., Khanna R., Wade M.S., Li Y., Liang L., Zareparsi S., Swaroop A., et al. CFH haplotypes without the Y402H coding variant show strong association with susceptibility to age-related macular degeneration. Nat. Genet. (2006) 38:1049–1054.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]

  85. Maller J., George S., Purcell S., Fagerness J., Altshuler D., Daly M.J., Seddon J.M. Common variation in three genes, including a noncoding variant in CFH, strongly influences risk of age-related macular degeneration. Nat. Genet. (2006) 38:1055–1059.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]

  86. Hughes A.E., Orr N., Esfandiary H., Diaz-Torres M., Goodship T., Chakravarthy U. A common CFH haplotype, with deletion of CFHR1 and CFHR3, is associated with lower risk of age-related macular degeneration. Nat. Genet. (2006) 38:1173–1177.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]

  87. Gold B., Merriam J.E., Zernant J., Hancox L.S., Taiber A.J., Gehrs K., Cramer K., Neel J., Bergeron J., Barile G.R., et al. Variation in factor B (BF) and complement component 2 (C2) genes is associated with age-related macular degeneration. Nat. Genet. (2006) 38:458–462.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]

  88. Rivera A., Fisher S.A., Fritsche L.G., Keilhauer C.N., Lichtner P., Meitinger T., Weber B.H. Hypothetical LOC387715 is a second major susceptibility gene for age-related macular degeneration, contributing independently of complement factor H to disease risk. Hum. Mol. Genet. (2005) 14:3227–3236.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

  89. Jakobsdottir J., Conley Y.P., Weeks D.E., Mah T.S., Ferrell R.E., Gorin M.B. Susceptibility genes for age-related maculopathy on chromosome 10q26. Am. J. Hum. Genet. (2005) 77:389–407.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]

  90. Conley Y.P., Jakobsdottir J., Mah T., Weeks D.E., Klein R., Kuller L., Ferrell R.E., Gorin M.B. CFH, ELOVL4, PLEKHA1 and LOC387715 genes and susceptibility to age-related maculopathy: AREDS and CHS cohorts and meta-analyses. Hum. Mol. Genet. (2006) 15:3206–3218.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

  91. Dewan A., Liu M., Hartman S., Zhang S.S., Liu D.T., Zhao C., Tam P.O., Chan W.M., Lam D.S., Snyder M., et al. HTRA1 promoter polymorphism in wet age-related macular degeneration. Science (2006) 314:989–992.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

  92. Yang Z., Camp N.J., Sun H., Tong Z., Gibbs D., Cameron D.J., Chen H., Zhao Y., Pearson E., Li X., et al. A variant of the HTRA1 gene increases susceptibility to age-related macular degeneration. Science (2006) 314:992–993.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

  93. Seddon J.M., Francis P.J., George S., Schultz D.W., Rosner B., Klein M.L. Association of CFH Y402H and LOC387715 A69S with progression of age-related macular degeneration. JAMA (2007) 297:1793–1800.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

  94. Shastry B.S. Further support for the common variants in complement factor H (Y402H) and LOC387715 (A69S) genes as major risk factors for the exudative age-related macular degeneration. Ophthalmologica (2006) 220:291–295.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]

  95. Shuler R.K. Jr, Hauser M.A., Caldwell J., Gallins P., Schmidt S., Scott W.K., Agarwal A., Haines J.L., Pericak-Vance M.A., Postel E.A. Neovascular age-related macular degeneration and its association with LOC387715 and complement factor H polymorphism. Arch. Ophthalmol. (2007) 125:63–67.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

  96. Schaumberg D.A., Christen W.G., Kozlowski P., Miller D.T., Ridker P.M., Zee R.Y. A prospective assessment of the Y402H variant in complement factor H, genetic variants in C-reactive protein, and risk of age-related macular degeneration. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. (2006) 47:2336–2340.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

  97. Schmidt S., Hauser M.A., Scott W.K., Postel E.A., Agarwal A., Gallins P., Wong F., Chen Y.S., Spencer K., Schnetz-Boutaud N., et al. Cigarette smoking strongly modifies the association of LOC387715 and age-related macular degeneration. Am. J. Hum. Genet. (2006) 78:852–864.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]

  98. Kanda A., Chen W., Othman M., Branham K.E.H., Brooks M., Khanna R., He S., Lyons R., Abecasis G.R., Swaroop A. A variant of mitochondrial protein LOC387715/ARMS2, not HTRA1, is strongly associated with age-related macular degeneration. In: PNAS (2007) In press.

  99. Zurdel J., Finckh U., Menzer G., Nitsch R.M., Richard G. CST3 genotype associated with exudative age related macular degeneration. Br. J. Ophthalmol. (2002) 86:214–219.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

  100. Tuo J., Smith B.C., Bojanowski C.M., Meleth A.D., Gery I., Csaky K.G., Chew E.Y., Chan C.C. The involvement of sequence variation and expression of CX3CR1 in the pathogenesis of age-related macular degeneration. FASEB J (2004) 18:1297–1299.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

  101. Zareparsi S., Buraczynska M., Branham K.E., Shah S., Eng D., Li M., Pawar H., Yashar B.M., Moroi S.E., Lichter P.R., et al. Toll-like receptor 4 variant D299G is associated with susceptibility to age-related macular degeneration. Hum. Mol. Genet. (2005) 14:1449–1455.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

  102. Stone E.M., Braun T.A., Russell S.R., Kuehn M.H., Lotery A.J., Moore P.A., Eastman C.G., Casavant T.L., Sheffield V.C. Missense variations in the fibulin 5 gene and age-related macular degeneration. N. Engl. J. Med. (2004) 351:346–353.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

  103. Haines J.L., Schnetz-Boutaud N., Schmidt S., Scott W.K., Agarwal A., Postel E.A., Olson L., Kenealy S.J., Hauser M., Gilbert J.R., et al. Functional candidate genes in age-related macular degeneration: significant association with VEGF, VLDLR, and LRP6. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. (2006) 47:329–335.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

  104. Bentley D.R. Whole-genome re-sequencing. Curr. Opin. Genet. Dev. (2006) 16:545–552.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]

  105. Libioulle C., Louis E., Hansoul S., Sandor C., Farnir F., Franchimont D., Vermeire S., Dewit O., de Vos M., Dixon A., et al. Novel Crohn disease locus identified by genome-wide association maps to a gene desert on 5p13.1 and modulates expression of PTGER4. PLoS Genet. (2007) 3:e58.[CrossRef][Medline]

  106. Duerr R.H., Taylor K.D., Brant S.R., Rioux J.D., Silverberg M.S., Daly M.J., Steinhart A.H., Abraham C., Regueiro M., Griffiths A., et al. A genome-wide association study identifies IL23R as an inflammatory bowel disease gene. Science (2006) 314:1461–1463.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

  107. Sladek R., Rocheleau G., Rung J., Dina C., Shen L., Serre D., Boutin P., Vincent D., Belisle A., Hadjadj S., et al. A genome-wide association study identifies novel risk loci for type 2 diabetes. Nature (2007) 445:881–885.[CrossRef][Medline]

  108. Barrett J.C., Cardon L.R. Evaluating coverage of genome-wide association studies. Nat. Genet. (2006) 38:659–662.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]

  109. Skol A.D., Scott L.J., Abecasis G.R., Boehnke M. Joint analysis is more efficient than replication-based analysis for two-stage genome-wide association studies. Nat. Genet. (2006) 38:209–213.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]

  110. Romeo S., Pennacchio L.A., Fu Y., Boerwinkle E., Tybjaerg-Hansen A., Hobbs H.H., Cohen J.C. Population-based resequencing of ANGPTL4 uncovers variations that reduce triglycerides and increase HDL. Nat. Genet. (2007) 39:513–516.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]

  111. Zarbin M.A. Current concepts in the pathogenesis of age-related macular degeneration. Arch. Ophthalmol. (2004) 122:598–614.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

  112. Donoso L.A., Kim D., Frost A., Callahan A., Hageman G. The role of inflammation in the pathogenesis of age-related macular degeneration. Surv. Ophthalmol. (2006) 51:137–152.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]

  113. Beatty S., Koh H., Phil M., Henson D., Boulton M. The role of oxidative stress in the pathogenesis of age-related macular degeneration. Surv. Ophthalmol. (2000) 45:115–134.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]

  114. Seddon J.M., Gensler G., Milton R.C., Klein M.L., Rifai N. Association between C-reactive protein and age-related macular degeneration. JAMA (2004) 291:704–710.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

  115. Edwards A.O., Malek G. Molecular genetics of AMD and current animal models. Angiogenesis (2007) 10:119–132.[CrossRef][Medline]

  116. Elizabeth Rakoczy P., Yu M.J., Nusinowitz S., Chang B., Heckenlively J.R. Mouse models of age-related macular degeneration. Exp. Eye Res. (2006) 82:741–752.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]

  117. Fisher S.A., Rivera A., Fritsche L.G., Babadjanova G., Petrov S., Weber B.H. Assessment of the contribution of CFH and chromosome 10q26 AMD susceptibility loci in a Russian population isolate. Br. J. Ophthalmol. (2007) 91:576–578.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

  118. Simonelli F., Frisso G., Testa F., di Fiore R., Vitale D.F., Manitto M.P., Brancato R., Rinaldi E., Sacchetti L. Polymorphism p.402Y>H in the complement factor H protein is a risk factor for age related macular degeneration in an Italian population. Br. J. Ophthalmol. (2006) 90:1142–1145.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

  119. Seitsonen S., Lemmela S., Holopainen J., Tommila P., Ranta P., Kotamies A., Moilanen J., Palosaari T., Kaarniranta K., Meri S., et al. Analysis of variants in the complement factor H, the elongation of very long chain fatty acids-like 4 and the hemicentin 1 genes of age-related macular degeneration in the Finnish population. Mol. Vis. (2006) 12:796–801.[Web of Science][Medline]

  120. Seddon J.M., George S., Rosner B., Klein M.L. CFH gene variant, Y402H, and smoking, body mass index, environmental associations with advanced age-related macular degeneration. Hum. Hered. (2006) 61:157–165.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]

  121. Souied E.H., Leveziel N., Richard F., Dragon-Durey M.A., Coscas G., Soubrane G., Benlian P., Fremeaux-Bacchi V. Y402H complement factor H polymorphism associated with exudative age-related macular degeneration in the French population. Mol. Vis. (2005) 11:1135–1140.[Web of Science][Medline]

  122. Magnusson K.P., Duan S., Sigurdsson H., Petursson H., Yang Z., Zhao Y., Bernstein P.S., Ge J., Jonasson F., Stefansson E., et al. CFH Y402H confers similar risk of soft drusen and both forms of advanced AMD. PLoS Med. (2006) 3:e5.[CrossRef][Medline]

  123. Baird P.N., Islam F.M., Richardson A.J., Cain M., Hunt N., Guymer R. Analysis of the Y402H variant of the complement factor H gene in age-related macular degeneration. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. (2006) 47:4194–4198.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

  124. Ross R.J., Bojanowski C.M., Wang J.J., Chew E.Y., Rochtchina E., Ferris F.L. III, Mitchell P., Chan C.C., Tuo J. The LOC387715 polymorphism and age-related macular degeneration: replication in three case-control samples. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. (2007) 48:1128–1132.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

  125. Francis P.J., George S., Schultz D.W., Rosner B., Hamon S., Ott J., Weleber R.G., Klein M.L., Seddon J.M. The LOC387715 gene, smoking, body mass index, environmental associations with advanced age-related macular degeneration. Hum. Hered. (2007) 63:212–218.[Medline]

  126. Bojanowski C.M., Shen D., Chew E.Y., Ning B., Csaky K.G., Green W.R., Chan C.C., Tuo J. An apolipoprotein E variant may protect against age-related macular degeneration through cytokine regulation. Environ. Mol. Mutagen. (2006) 47:594–602.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]

  127. Simonelli F., Margaglione M., Testa F., Cappucci G., Manitto M.P., Brancato R., Rinaldi E. Apolipoprotein E polymorphisms in age-related macular degeneration in an Italian population. Ophthalmic Res. (2001) 33:325–328.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]

  128. Schmidt S., Saunders A.M., De La Paz M.A., Postel E.A., Heinis R.M., Agarwal A., Scott W.K., Gilbert J.R., McDowell J.G., Bazyk A., et al. Association of the apolipoprotein E gene with age-related macular degeneration: possible effect modification by family history, age, and gender. Mol. Vis. (2000) 6:287–293.[Web of Science][Medline]

  129. Gotoh N., Kuroiwa S., Kikuchi T., Arai J., Arai S., Yoshida N., Yoshimura N. Apolipoprotein E polymorphisms in Japanese patients with polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy and exudative age-related macular degeneration. Am. J. Ophthalmol. (2004) 138:567–573.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Clin. Chem.Home page
D. I. Chasman, G. Pare, and P. M Ridker
Population-Based Genomewide Genetic Analysis of Common Clinical Chemistry Analytes
Clin. Chem., January 1, 2009; 55(1): 39 - 51.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 IOVSHome page
I. Kaur, S. Katta, A. Hussain, N. Hussain, A. Mathai, R. Narayanan, A. Hussain, R. K. Reddy, A. B. Majji, T. Das, et al.
Variants in the 10q26 Gene Cluster (LOC387715 and HTRA1) Exhibit Enhanced Risk of Age-Related Macular Degeneration along with CFH in Indian Patients
Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci., May 1, 2008; 49(5): 1771 - 1776.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

This Article
Right arrow Abstract Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Swaroop, A.
Right arrow Articles by Abecasis, G.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Swaroop, A.
Right arrow Articles by Abecasis, G.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?