Evaluation of serum galectin-3 concentration as a potential biomarker in exudative-type age-related macular degeneration

To investigate the effect of serum galectin-3 on naive neovascular AMD and its use as a serum marker by revealing the variation in this molecule between patient and control groups. Fifty-six naive neovascular AMD patients and 30 healthy control age-matched healthy subjects were included in this prospective case‒control study. Blood samples were obtained and used for analysis of complete blood count; High sensitivity C-reactive protein (HsCRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol, homocysteine, HbA1c and galectin-3 levels. The average HsCRP level in the AMD group was significantly higher than that in the control group (p < 0.001). The median leukocyte count was significantly higher in the AMD group than in the control group (p < 0.001). Total cholesterol, LDL and TG levels were significantly higher in the AMD group than in the control group (p < 0.001; in all comparisons). The mean HDL level was significantly lower in the AMD group than in the control group (p < 0.001). The mean galectin-3 level was 8.79 ± 0.55 in the AMD group and 6.55 ± 0.55 in the control group. There was a statistically significant increase in galectin-3 levels in the AMD group (p < 0.001). There was a significant positive correlation between CMT and galectin-3 levels in the control (r = 0.495, p = 0.005) and AMD (r = 0.776, p < 0.001) groups. This study reports that serum Gal-3 concentration was higher in the AMD group compared to the control group and positively correlated with CMT.