Increased Systemic Oxidative Stress and DNA Damage in Patients with Exudative Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine thelevels of systemic oxidative stress and genotoxicity (DNAdamage) in patients with exudative age-related maculardegeneration (AMD) and to investigate the possible role ofthese factors in development of advanced stage wet AMD.Material-Method: The study comprised 26 patients withexudative AMD (68.9±1.9 years of age) and 26 age- and sexmatched(64.8±2.2 years of age) healthy controls (p=0.268,p=0.258, respectively). Serum total antioxidant status (TAS) andtotal oxidant status (TOS) were measured with a commercialkit. Oxidative stress index (OSI) was calculated. DNA damagewas evaluated using comet analysis following lymphocyteisolation from venous blood. Parameters including tail lengthand tail moment were evaluated for quantitative analysis of DNAdamage.Results: The AMD group had lower TAS and higher OSIvalues than in the control group, while TOS values didnot differ between the two groups (p=0.006, p=0.039 andp=0.319, respectively). Furthermore, tail length (p<0.0001)and tail moment (p=0.005) were significantly higher in theAMD group compared to the control group.Conclusions: Although multiple factors play a role inpathogenesis of AMD, increased systemic oxidative stress andDNA damage might be an important risk factor for developmentof exudative AMD. In addition, investigating these factors inpatients with early AMD might be helpful for developing newpreventive therapies.