A recent clinical study at the National Eye Institute (NEI), part of the National Institutes of Health, has shown that the drug minocycline, an antibiotic that decreases inflammation, did not slow vision loss or expansion of geographic atrophy in people with dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Dry AMD affects the macula, the part of the eye’s retina that allows for clear central vision, and can lead to the loss of central vision over time.
The study, led by Tiarnan Keenan, M.D., Ph.D., a Stadtman Tenure-Track Investigator at the NEI’s Division of Epidemiology and Clinical Applications, aimed to test whether inhibiting microglia with minocycline might help slow geographic atrophy expansion and its corresponding vision loss. The trial enrolled 37 participants at the NIH Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, and at the Bristol Eye Hospital, United Kingdom. After a nine-month period of tracking each participant’s rate of geographic atrophy expansion, the participants took twice-daily doses of minocycline for two years. However, the researchers found that there was no difference in geographic atrophy expansion rate or vision loss with minocycline.
Previous studies have shown that minocycline can help reduce inflammation and microglial activity in the eye, including the retina, and has shown beneficial effects for conditions such as diabetic retinopathy. However, it had not previously been tested for dry AMD.
The clinical study was funded by the NEI Intramural Program and took place in part at the NIH Clinical Center. This study provides valuable insights into potential treatments for dry AMD and the role of inflammation in the progression of the disease, contributing to ongoing research efforts to better understand and address this vision-threatening condition.
