Medical Hypothesis, Discovery & Innovation in Optometry

Abstract

Background: The microbiome is strongly linked to many extra-intestinal disorders. Gut commensal microbiota in particular plays an active role in human immune and intestinal homeostasis. Complex interactions of the microbiota with the host genetics and other underlying factors create an intestinal dysbiosis which is thought to be linked to ocular inflammatory diseases.

Methods: A thorough literature search was performed in PubMed database. An additional search was made in Google Scholar to complete the collected items.

Results: Recent studies have proposed the role of intestinal microbiota in the pathogenesis of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Changes in the microbiome have been shown to trigger several ocular inflammatory processes. There is increasing evidence that intestinal microbial imbalance may have an important role in the pathogenesis of AMD.

Conclusions: This review summarizes how alterations in the intestinal microbiota can be associated with the pathogenesis of AMD and how new therapeutic modalities can be designed to target this microbiome to limit the blinding nature of this disease. The future advances in microbiome may unveil a new era in understanding and managing AMD.