Posts by Milica Margeta, MD, PhD
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Genetic Risk Factor for Alzheimer's Disease Linked to Reduced Glaucoma Risk
Milica A. Margeta, MD, PhD, and Janey L. Wiggs, MD, PhD, of the Mass Eye and Ear/Massachusetts General Hospital Department of Ophthalmology have demonstrated that the APOE ε4 allele, the strongest genetic risk factor for late-onset Alzheimer's disease, has a protective effect against primary open-angle glaucoma.
Biography
Dr. Milica Margeta is a member of the Mass Eye and Ear Glaucoma Service, where she specializes in medical and surgical management of moderate and advanced glaucoma.
During her residency training at Duke, she received the prestigious Robert Machemer Resident Research Award for her project "CSF protein levels in children with idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH)," as well as the Duke Ocular Innovation Award for creating a novel approach for adjusting glaucoma drainage device surgery in children with glaucoma.
As a K12 Scholar in the Harvard Vision Clinical Scientist Development Program, which is funded by the National Institutes of Health/National Eye Institute, Dr. Margeta is interested in developing novel neuroprotective strategies in glaucoma, a chronic degenerative disease that damages the eye's optic nerve and can lead to progressive loss of vision. In particular, she is studying the role of retinal neuroinflammation during glaucomatous optic nerve damage, with a special focus on microglia, the resident immune cells of the retina and the brain. Her research has shown that in mouse models of glaucoma, microglia take on a neurodegeneration-associated molecular phenotype, which can worsen glaucoma damage. By modulating microglial signaling in glaucoma, she hopes to ultimately develop novel neuroprotective treatments for this common blinding disease.
Mass Eye and Ear/Mass General Ophthalmology
An international center for ophthalmology treatment and research, Mass Eye and Ear/Massachusetts General Hospital is the primary teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School’s Department of Ophthalmology, and is consistently recognized as one of the nation’s top hospitals for eye care. Led by Chief and Chair Joan W. Miller, MD, the department provides seamless access to the most innovative care available anywhere in the world.
