Genetic biomarkers for precision medicine in age-related macular degeneration

Abstract

Age-related macular degeneration affects 1 in 10 elderly people. It is a progressive disease that leads to vision loss, severely impacting quality of life. Unfortunately, response to treatment is highly variable and in 10% of the patients treatment is not effective at all. A better understanding of the molecular players involved in treatment response would allow for highly personalized treatment strategies and could potentially benefit millions of patients worldwide. In this thesis, we identified several genetic variants associated with worse treatment response outcomes. Our results may therefore be used to improve patient care through personalized treatment.