Researchers at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) have discovered the role of the growth factor angiopoietin 2 in the development of wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) – a leading cause of irreversible vision loss in the elderly.

Levels of angiopoietin 2 in the aqueous of the eye were found to be significantly elevated in patients with wet AMD compared to healthy volunteers, and were correlated with both worse vision at presentation and increased macular swelling.

“What we have found is a potential new therapeutic target for wet AMD. We hope future clinical trials will be able to show a greater efficacy of blocking angiopoietin 2,” said Dr. Mårten Erik Brelén of the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, CUHK.

Currently, treatment options are limited to three vascular endothelial growth factor inhibitors which require monthly injections into the eye. It is estimated that 10-15 percent of patients will eventually lose their vision despite continued treatment. The Hospital Authority estimates about 3,000 new cases of wet AMD each year.

“An intensive area of research is to work out more of the mechanisms of AMD, which may provide us with better treatment outcomes, less treatment failure and ultimately reduce the treatment burden to our patients,” said Brelen. “We’re now working to establish whether angiopoietin 2 could also act as a biomarker to identify patients who could benefit from more aggressive and intensive treatment, which we can now conduct at the CUHK Pao So Kok Macular Disease Treatment and Research Centre.”

The new research centre was opened recently at the Prince of Wales Hospital through generous donations from Mr. Bei-Ming Chang and Mrs. So-Kok Chang, with the aim of enhancing macular disease treatment and research.