March 21, 2017

Asking more of Medicine

University Communications | Science & Technology

Asking More of Medicine

“If macular degeneration were a country, it would be the eighth-most populated nation in the world,” said UVA’s Dr. Jayakrishna Ambati. Put plainly, macular degeneration means hundreds of millions of people are at risk of going blind.

Through collaboration, Dr. Ambati and his team found that macular degeneration patients have an excess of Alu, a toxic molecule similar to HIV. Testing antiretrovirals – a drug already approved for the treatment of HIV and AIDS – they discovered an interruption in the progress of macular degeneration models. Which led them to ask a question: Could antiretrovirals affect other aging diseases?

The retina is made up of a thin layer of light-sensitive tissue located at the back of the eye, near the optic nerve. Maintaining its health is essential to clear and uncompromised vision.

For patients with dry macular degeneration, an excess of Alu activates inflammasomes, which attack the retina. With time, this can cause the patient to completely lose central vision.

A healthy brain contains billions of neurons, carrying out complex processes and transmissions via electrical and chemical signals. These are imperative for memory, cognition, personality – and supporting human life.

Like macular degeneration, Alzheimer’s is an aging disease. Only in this case, the brain degenerates. The disease interrupts neural communication, deteriorating cognitive functions which can lead to loss of life.

Arteries play a vital role in the cardiovascular system, carrying blood away from the heart and distributing nutrients and oxygen to cells throughout the body.

Another aging disease, Atherosclerosis occurs when plaque accumulates in the arteries. Eventually, this build-up narrows the arteries, curbing the flow of nutrients and oxygen to cells throughout the body.

Asking More of Big Data

While their effects vary, macular degeneration, atherosclerosis and Alzheimer’s share similar, underlying traits. Agitated by weaker and older immune systems, these diseases are each driven by inflammasomes.

Collaborating with UVA computer scientists, Dr. Ambati and his team conducted big data archeology. Mining large health insurance databases, they discovered that patients on anti-HIV drugs were protected from these inflammatory diseases to a dramatic extent. The implications of this discovery are staggering.

• 200 Million Diagnosed wiht Macular Degeneration
• 47 Million Live with Alzheimer’s Disease
• 1.1 Billion have High Blood Pressure
• 1,247,000,000 could be Impacted by UVA Research
• 1,247,000,000 if that were a Country, It Would be the Third Largest in the World.

When We Ask More, We Illuminate the Darkness