Scientists at UC Irvine have found a way to restore vision in aging eyes by targeting how the body processes certain fats.
Building on earlier research into the ELOVL2 “aging gene,” the team showed that giving older mice specific fatty acids improved their eyesight, even reversing signs of aging in the eye.
Reversing Age-Related Vision Loss
Changes in eyesight are one of the most common signs of getting older. Sit down in a dimly lit restaurant with someone over 60, and you might hear them say, “Hold on — let me pull out my cell phone. I need more light to read the menu!” But what if it were possible to restore the sharp vision we lose with age?
Researchers at UC Irvine have been exploring exactly that. Their latest study investigates a potential therapy that could slow or even reverse the aging process in the eye while helping prevent conditions like age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
“We show the potential for reversing age-related vision loss,” explains Dorota Skowronska-Krawczyk, PhD, an associate professor in UC Irvine’s Departments of Physiology and Biophysics and Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences. The research was conducted in collaboration with the Polish Academy of Sciences and the Health and Medical University in Potsdam, Germany. The team published their findings in Science Translational Medicine under the title “Retinal polyunsaturated fatty acid supplementation reverses aging-related vision decline in mice.”
Understanding the “Aging” Gene
This work expands on an earlier study of the Elongation of Very Long Chain Fatty Acids Protein 2 (ELOVL2), a gene known to be an important marker of aging. “We showed that we have lower vision when this ELOVL2 enzyme isn’t active,” says Skowronska-Krawczyk, who is also part of the Robert M. Brunson Center for Translational Vision Research at UC Irvine’s School of Medicine. In that previous research, boosting ELOVL2 activity in older mice increased levels of the omega−3 fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in the eye, resulting in better vision.
In their new study, the researchers looked for another way to achieve those benefits without relying on the ELOVL2 enzyme itself.
Restoring Vision Through Fatty Acid Supplementation
As people grow older, changes in lipid metabolism reduce levels of very-long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (VLC-PUFAs) in the retina. This decline can harm vision and contribute to AMD. The ELOVL2 gene helps produce both VLC-PUFAs and DHA, but when its function weakens with age, so does the eye’s ability to maintain these essential molecules.
To compensate, the UC Irvine team injected older mice with a specific polyunsaturated fatty acid. The result was striking — the animals’ visual performance improved. “It’s a proof-of-concept for turning lipid injection into a possible therapy,” says Skowronska-Krawczyk. “What is important is that we didn’t see the same effect with DHA.” Others have also questioned the ability of DHA to slow AMD progression.
“Our work really confirms the fact that DHA alone cannot do the work, but we have this other fatty acid that is seemingly working and improving vision in aged animals,” says Skowronska-Krawczyk. “We have also shown on a molecular level that it actually reverses the aging features.”
Genetic Clues to Macular Degeneration Progression
Furthermore, the researchers found genetic variants in the ELOVL2 enzyme that correlate with faster progression of AMD. “Now we actually have a genetic connection to the disease and its aging aspect,” says Skowronska-Krawczyk, “so we could potentially identify people at higher risk for vision loss progression.” This could lead to not only therapeutic treatment options but also targeted interventions for prevention.
These findings have only further solidified Skowronska-Krawczyk’s view of the importance of the ELOVL2 enzyme. “I am pretty convinced it’s one of the top aging genes that we should look at when we think about anti-aging therapies.”
Looking Beyond the Retina
In a collaboration with researchers from UC San Diego, Skowronska-Krawczyk has also started to explore the role of lipid metabolism in immune system aging. That study found that the lack of ELOVL2 enzyme induces accelerated aging of immune cells, suggesting that systemic lipid supplementation could potentially counteract the effects of age on the immune system. It also suggested that lipid metabolism might play a role in blood cancers.
“Our first study explored a potential therapy to address vision loss,” says Skowronska-Krawczyk, “but with the information we’ve since learned about immune aging, we are hopeful the supplementation therapy will boost the immune system as well.”
Reference: “Retinal polyunsaturated fatty acid supplementation reverses aging-related vision decline in mice” by Fangyuan Gao, Emily Tom, Cezary Rydz, William Cho, Alexander V. Kolesnikov, Yutong Sha, Anastasios Papadam, Samantha Jafari, Andrew Joseph, Ava Ahanchi, Nika Balalaei Someh Saraei, David C. Lyon, Andrzej Foik, Qing Nie, Felix Grassmann, Vladimir J. Kefalov and Dorota Skowronska-Krawczyk, 24 September 2025, Science Translational Medicine.
DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.ads5769
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