Ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament and age-related macular degeneration: a new avenue of forensic identification

Anthropologists provide a valuable service to the medico-legal community. They are tasked with creating a biological profile and helping with the ultimate identification of unknown remains. This can often be a difficult task when the anthropologists require something to which they can compare the biological profile and create a small group of potential matches. This endeavor can be greatly enhanced by access to medical patient databases and identification techniques which are able to utilize specific disease databases in conjunction with the biological profile. The research presented here explores the genetic connection between the eye disease Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD), and the bone disease Ossification of the Posterior Longitudinal Ligament (OPLL) as a new avenue of identification. The research conducted looked at the specific genetic marker that connects the two diseases, the interaction of this genetic risk factor with other risk genes in AMD, and the prevalence and presentation of OPLL in non-Asian populations. The results of the project provided a great deal of insight into a possible therapeutic target for AMD and suggests that the previously reported statistics on OPLL both in, and out, of Asia are grossly underestimated, thus the disease should be reexamined in all populations throughout the world. In addition, the results and parameters of this research advocate future research into an identification method based on the genetic connection between these two diseases.