1. Elevated tumor necrosis factor alpha and vascular endothelial growth factor in intermediate age-related macular degeneration and geographic atrophy
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Vivian Rajeswaren, Brandie D. Wagner, Jennifer L. Patnaik, Naresh Mandava, Marc T. Mathias, Niranjan Manoharan, Talisa E. de Carlo Forest, Ramya Gnanaraj, Anne M. Lynch, Alan G. Palestine, and the University of Colorado Retina Research Group
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age-related macular degeneration ,tumor necrosis factor alpha ,vascular endothelial growth factor ,intermediate age related macular degeneration ,geographic atrophy ,Medicine - Abstract
IntroductionTumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) is an inflammatory cytokine implicated in pathological changes to the retinal pigment epithelium that are similar to changes in geographic atrophy (GA), an advanced form of age related macular degeneration (AMD). TNF-α also modulates expression of other cytokines including vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), leading to choroidal atrophy in models of AMD. The purpose of this study was to investigate systemic TNF-α and VEGF in patients with GA and intermediate AMD (iAMD) compared to controls without AMD.MethodsWe examined plasma levels of TNF-α and VEGF in patients with GA, iAMD, and controls without AMD from the University of Colorado AMD registry (2014 to 2021). Cases and controls were characterized by multimodal imaging. TNF-α and VEGF were measured via multiplex immunoassay and data were analyzed using a non-parametric rank based linear regression model fit to plasma biomarkers.ResultsThere were 97 GA, 199 iAMD patients and 139 controls. TNF-α was significantly increased in GA (Median:9.9pg/ml, IQR:7.3-11.8) compared to iAMD (Median:7.4, IQR:5.3-9.1) and in both GA and iAMD compared to controls (Median:6.4, IQR:5.3-7.8), p
- Published
- 2024
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