An experimental drug is showing promise against an untreatable eye disease that blinds older adults - and intriguingly, it seems to work in patients who carry a particular gene flaw that fuels the damage to their vision.
Age-related macular degeneration, or AMD, is the leading cause of vision loss among seniors, gradually eroding crucial central vision.
More than 5 million people worldwide have an advanced type of so-called "dry" macular degeneration that has no treatment.
Patients may first notice blurriness when they look straight ahead. Eventually many develop blank spots, becoming legally blind.
The experimental drug, lampalizumab, aims to slow the destruction of light-sensing cells in the retina. When those cells die, they can't grow back - the vision loss is irreversible.
