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Macular Degeneration

Signs To Look For/Symptoms:

The aging process affects the development of Macular Degeneration. There are two kinds of age-related macular degeneration: dry – which is caused by aging and thinning of the tissues of the macula; wet – caused by abnormal vessel growth underneath the retina which leak blood or fluid causing blurry vision.

Some symptoms include:

  • Words on a page look blurry
  • A dark and empty area appears in the center of vision
  • Straight lines look distorted

Risk Factors:

Macular Degeneration does not usually lead to total blindness, but can prevent the person from being able to perform some activities, such as reading or threading a needle

However, it can also lead to irreversible visual loss and legal blindness.

Rarely, “dry” macular degeneration can lead to geographic atrophy, a late form of dry AMD characterized by a large area of central RPE degeneration and atrophy.

People with wet AMD have rapid loss of vision and the development of metramorphosia, macropsoa, or scotoma.

Preventative Measures:

A simple vision test in which you look at a chart of graph paper can determine whether or not you have macular degeneration. Viewing the macula with an ophthalmoscope and taking special photographs of the eye are other ways of diagnosing MD.

Smoking is the single most important modifiable environmental risk factor for development of all forms of AMD, thus smoking cessation can be a preventative measure.

Recommendations:

Nutritional supplements such as antioxidant vitamins, zinc, vitamins C, vitamin E, and beta-carotene may be used to decrease the impact of people with age-related Macular Degeneration.

Certain types of “wet” macular degeneration can be treated with laser surgery by stopping the leaking of blood vessels.

Anti-VEGF drugs can also be used to prevent the formation of abnormal blood vessels, since VEGF is the vascular endothelial growth factor that causes the development of blood vessels.

Additionally, ocular photodynamic therapy can be used as a way to tread MD.

Visual rehabilitation just like with low vision can be helpful as well.