|Articles|November 6, 2020

Digital Edition

  • Ophthalmology Times: October 1, 2020
  • Volume 45
  • Issue 16

Antihyperglycemic drug linked to reduced risk of new onset AMD

Research could lead to a novel therapeutic strategy for blinding disease


This article was reviewed by Andrea Blitzer, MD

Reduction in the risk of developing age-related macular degeneration (AMD) may be another benefit of metformin for protecting against age-related diseases, according to a case-control study undertaken by a team of investigators at the University of Chicago.

Led by Dimitra Skondra, MD, PhD, an associate professor in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, the research analyzed 10 years of data from the IBM MarketScan Commercial and Medicare Supplemental databases.

Related: Targeting AMD patient treatment burden

It found that the strongest effect occurred at low to moderate doses of metformin, was not restricted to patients with diabetes, but was not present among patients with diabetes who had diabetic retinopathy.

Andrea Blitzer, MD, a member of Skondra’s team and an ophthalmology resident at the University of Chicago, presented the findings at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology 2020 virtual annual meeting.

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