Angiogenesi neoplastica e degenerazione maculare legata all'età: Aspetti storici del micro-mondo dei neovasi

Angiogenesis is the process through which newly-formed vessels develop from pre-existing ones, following a series of sequential steps. The appearance of new vessels is essential in a number of physiological processes, but it is also associated with several pathological phenomena, such as arthritis, diabetic retinopathy and cancer. In the XIX century Rudolph Virchow ("Die Zellularpathologie", 1858) had already observed and described the rich vascularization which characterizes malignant tumors. This line of research was further developed by Goldman in the early XX century. With specific reference to the history of age-related macular degeneration, a disease model whose understanding is linked to the study of angiogenesis, in 1905 Oeller coined the definition "disciform macular degeneration", and twenty years later this expression was taken up by Kuhnt and Junius to describe disc-shaped lesions in the macula of elderly individuals. The historical evolution of the concept of angiogenesis, its characterizing evolutional steps and the most relevant scientific achievements in the field of macular degeneration up to the eighties of the XX century are here presented and discussed.