Zinc is a known effector of infection and immunity via NF-kappaB activation and its targets such as TNF-alpha, IL-1beta, A20 and PPAR-alpha and inhibition of cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase [71,93] and as inflammation is strongly associated with AMD [57,94,95,96] our findings suggest that further clinical investigations are needed to uncover the relationship between zinc and the immune function. This evidence concerns the gene IL1B and infection.