Scientists Find Novel Approach for Treating the Leading Cause of Blindness in Elderly

Source: Florida Atlantic University

Date: May 18, 2015


Boca Raton, Fla. – November 19, 2014 – High concentrations of oxygen, or oxidative stress, may be the cause of more than 70 widely-spread diseases such as cancer, heart disease, neurodegenerative diseases and eye diseases including macular degeneration.
 
Scientists at FAU's Charles E. Schmidt College of Science and the FAU Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, have found that sulindac, a known anti-inflammatory drug, can protect against oxidative damage due to age-related macular degeneration, one of the primary causes of vision loss in the elderly. 

Their findings were recently released in an article titled "Pharmacological protection of retinal pigmented epithelial cells by sulindac involves PPAR-?" in the prestigious Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
 

The lead author, Arunodoy Sur (left), a recent alumnus of FAU's Department of Biological Sciences, collaborated with Drs. Shairlaju Kesaraju (above), Kasirajan Ayyanathan, Diane Baronas-Lowell, Janet Blanks and Herbert Weissbach of the College of Science and Dr. Howard Prentice in the College of Medicine, along with colleagues at the University of Southern California. 
 
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