Project acronym CREST
Project Enrichment of macular pigment, and its impact on vision and blindness
Researcher (PI) John Michael Nolan
Host Institution (HI) WATERFORD INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), LS7, ERC-2011-StG_20101109
Summary Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of blindness in the developed world. The macula, the central part of the retina, is responsible for optimal spatial vision. There is a growing body of evidence that a lack of a dietary pigment at the macula, known as macular pigment (MP), is associated with increased risk of AMD.
MP contains the carotenoids lutein (L), zeaxanthin (Z) and meso-zeaxanthin (meso-Z). The typical western diet contains around 60 carotenoids, and 18 have been identified in human serum. However, only three are found at the macula, indicating the unique biological selectivity for their uptake at this location. The function of MP remains undetermined. It is likely that the accumulation of MP has evolved because of its optical and antioxidant properties; for example, MP limits retinal oxidative damage passively (through filtration of blue light) and actively (by quenching free radicals). Furthermore, its optical properties suggest a key role for MP in enhancing visual performance and supporting ‘super’ vision by reducing the effects of chromatic aberration and light scatter.
Recent research has shown that MP can be augmented by dietary supplementation in most (but not all) subjects, suggesting that the macular concentrations of these carotenoids are suboptimal in many people. My laboratory has discovered that a dip in the central portion of this pigment, seen in around 12% of individuals, is an undesirable feature of its spatial profile and may be linked to an inability to generate meso-Z at the macula. However, we have identified that enrichment of MP can be achieved by inclusion of meso-Z in a dietary supplement.
We propose to uniquely enrich MP and assess its impact on visual performance in normal subjects and visual function in patients with AMD. This groundbreaking study will advance our understanding of the protective and optical hypothesis of MP, and potentially improve normal vision and prevent or delay blindness due to AMD.
Summary
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of blindness in the developed world. The macula, the central part of the retina, is responsible for optimal spatial vision. There is a growing body of evidence that a lack of a dietary pigment at the macula, known as macular pigment (MP), is associated with increased risk of AMD.
MP contains the carotenoids lutein (L), zeaxanthin (Z) and meso-zeaxanthin (meso-Z). The typical western diet contains around 60 carotenoids, and 18 have been identified in human serum. However, only three are found at the macula, indicating the unique biological selectivity for their uptake at this location. The function of MP remains undetermined. It is likely that the accumulation of MP has evolved because of its optical and antioxidant properties; for example, MP limits retinal oxidative damage passively (through filtration of blue light) and actively (by quenching free radicals). Furthermore, its optical properties suggest a key role for MP in enhancing visual performance and supporting ‘super’ vision by reducing the effects of chromatic aberration and light scatter.
Recent research has shown that MP can be augmented by dietary supplementation in most (but not all) subjects, suggesting that the macular concentrations of these carotenoids are suboptimal in many people. My laboratory has discovered that a dip in the central portion of this pigment, seen in around 12% of individuals, is an undesirable feature of its spatial profile and may be linked to an inability to generate meso-Z at the macula. However, we have identified that enrichment of MP can be achieved by inclusion of meso-Z in a dietary supplement.
We propose to uniquely enrich MP and assess its impact on visual performance in normal subjects and visual function in patients with AMD. This groundbreaking study will advance our understanding of the protective and optical hypothesis of MP, and potentially improve normal vision and prevent or delay blindness due to AMD.
Max ERC Funding
1 493 342 €
Duration
Start date: 2011-10-01, End date: 2016-09-30
Project acronym NEWDEALS
Project New Deals in the New Economy
Researcher (PI) Sean O Riain
Host Institution (HI) NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF IRELAND MAYNOOTH
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), SH2, ERC-2011-StG_20101124
Summary How are European workplaces being transformed? What kinds of new social bargains are emerging across the European Union? How are they being institutionalised? How are new workplace bargains shaped by the broader politics of sectors, regions and national economies?
These questions are crucial to the future of the European ‘social model’. The objective of this research programme is to provide answers to these questions, drawing on cross-national survey research on workplace organisation from 1995 to 2010 and selected industrial case studies in the small open European economies of Denmark, Ireland and the Netherlands.
These questions also raise crucial theoretical issues. The research reformulates the core elements of the ‘Varieties of Capitalism’ framework that has dominated comparative political economy for the past decade (Hall and Soskice, 2001). It improves our understanding of the diverse organisation of capitalism in Europe, of how that diversity is rooted in politically constructed ‘pathways to the future’, and of how capitalism is constructed out of social and institutional capabilities across Europe.
Summary
How are European workplaces being transformed? What kinds of new social bargains are emerging across the European Union? How are they being institutionalised? How are new workplace bargains shaped by the broader politics of sectors, regions and national economies?
These questions are crucial to the future of the European ‘social model’. The objective of this research programme is to provide answers to these questions, drawing on cross-national survey research on workplace organisation from 1995 to 2010 and selected industrial case studies in the small open European economies of Denmark, Ireland and the Netherlands.
These questions also raise crucial theoretical issues. The research reformulates the core elements of the ‘Varieties of Capitalism’ framework that has dominated comparative political economy for the past decade (Hall and Soskice, 2001). It improves our understanding of the diverse organisation of capitalism in Europe, of how that diversity is rooted in politically constructed ‘pathways to the future’, and of how capitalism is constructed out of social and institutional capabilities across Europe.
Max ERC Funding
1 320 020 €
Duration
Start date: 2012-01-01, End date: 2017-06-30
