Vascular Disease and Inflammation - NIHR Biomedical Research Centre: Moorfields

Retinal vascular and immune-mediated eye diseases, including age-related macular degeneration (AMD), diabetic retinopathy (DR) and uveitis, account for over 50 per cent of severe visual impairment certifications in the UK.

The NHS spends over £3.7 billion each year on management of glaucoma, AMD and DR but outcomes differ greatly between patients for reasons that are not understood.

We will investigate how blood vessels in the eye and immune cells can be managed to save sight across different eye diseases, using our world expertise in microvascular biology.

Image shows a depth encoded OCTA, a scanned image that reveals the vasculature of the retina in the back of the human eye.

Aims

Scientific discoveries

We will make diagnostic and treatment discoveries based on many different types of eye tissue characteristics (phenotypes).

Treatment discovery

We will better assess clinical tissue data to understand our patients and their conditions and diseases. This will be important for early phase trials and to discover more effective and targeted treatments.

Team

Image shows a white male with facial hair and closely cropped hair in a blue shirt, in a professional pose

Prof.
Marcus Fruttiger

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Image shows a woman wearing glasses, with dark skin, dark short hair and a business suit

Prof.
Sobha Sivaprasad

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Vascular Disease and Inflammation
Over 50% of severe visual impairment certifications in the UK are due to Age related Macular Degeneration, Diabetic Retinopathy and Uveitus
A common problem in all of these diseases is abnormal behaviour of blood vessels and immune cells in the eye
The cost to manage and treat these diseases for the N H S is extremely high and outcomes differ greatly between patients for reasons that are not yet properly understood
We have expertise in microvascular biology and are investing better ways to manage these diseased blood vessels and immune cells
We will make diagnostic and treatment discoveries based on different types of eye tissue characteristics – known as phenotypes
We are developing more effective and targeted treatments
N I H R Moorfields Biomedical Research Centre

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