Vision Seminar Series Hosts Dr. Demetrios Vavvas from Mass Eye and Ear Infirmary, Harvard Medical School

On Thursday September 21, 2017 the Vision Seminar Series was very pleased to host the guest speaker, Demetrious Vavvas M.D., Ph.D., who is a world-renowned retina surgeon and a clinician-scientist.

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) remains the leading cause of blindness in developed countries, and affects more than 150 million worldwide. Despite effective anti-angiogenic therapies for the less prevalent neovascular form of AMD, the treatments are lacking for the more prevalent dry form. Dr. Vavvas shared the novel study of the molecular mechanism in the development and progression of age related macular degeneration by his team.

He discussed the role of lysosomal dysfunction in the formation of the deposits below the retina seen in AMD. Furthermore, he reported the potential for novel therapeutics for AMD based on inhibition of complimentary and redundant cell death pathways of the cell. Most interestingly, he reported the results of a Phase I/II pilot study where his team found that regression of some high-risk features of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in patients receiving intensive statin treatment.