health.msn.com — Scientists from the United States and China have identified the first gene directly associated with the onset of severe "dry" macular degeneration, one of two forms of age-related macular degeneration that currently threatens the vision of up to nine million older Americans. The discovery, based on work with both human and mice cells, centers on a specific immune system protein called TLR3. Although helpful in fending off illness when confronted with certain viral infections, this molecule, when routinely activated, was also found to raise the risk for "dry" macular degeneration by attacking infected retinal cells.
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