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To donate through PayPal:
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Recommended reading:
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A newly-published call-to-arms and technical exposition on the SENS approach to age-related disease
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An early study of one of the seven targets of SENS research
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What to do in the meantime:
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Full of diet and lifestyle tips based on current science, to preserve your health until better technology is developed
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Target Diseases:
Age-related Macular Degeneration
Age-related macular degeneration (ARMD) is the leading cause of blindness in those over 50. A likely precursor is a build-up of a normally benign molecule called A2E. It is normally benign, but strong evidence indicates that in sufficient quantity it induces ARMD.
Specifically, A2E reaches up to 20% of retinal pigmented epithelial (RPE) cell mass in old age. Furthermore, at least three mechanisms have been identified by which A2E may be damaging to RPE cells. RPE cells atrophy and the adjacent photoreceptor cells, which depend on it for cell membrane degradation and renewal, subsequently die.
A2E is catabolically recalcitrant to human lysosomal enzymes. The goal of LysoSENS is to engineer enzymes that can degrade A2E, at least enough for endogenous lysosomal enzymes to complete the degradation.
This strategy is similar to LysoSENS's plans to prevent atherosclerosis by degrading 7-ketocholesterol (7KC). Unfortunately, A2E is not as readily abundant in nature as 7KC. Finding microbial enzymes in nature that degrade it will require a more difficult search, in which you can help.
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