Recently, evidence has implicated an overactive inflammatory cascade called the complement system as playing a pivotal role in the development of dry AMD. The complement cascade consists of 3 arms that converge to form a pore-like complex on the surface of cells called the membrane attack complex (MAC). Accumulation of MAC on cell surfaces leads to cell damage and death causing the clinical findings seen in AMD. Normal cells within the human body produce a protein on their cell surfaces called CD59 that blocks the MAC from forming. In AMD, the complement cascade is upregulated and leads to more MAC formation than the body can protect itself against leading to cell destruction.