Wet macular degeneration occurs when abnormal blood vessels form beneath the retina and leak fluid, compromising central vision and creating blind spots in your field of view.

Macular degeneration affects your central vision while typically not impacting peripheral (side) vision. Regular examinations, dilated eye exams, and other diagnostic testing should help identify this disease and facilitate diagnosis.

Dry Macular Degeneration (AMD)

Macular degeneration is a disease of the macula, the part of the retina responsible for controlling central vision. It involves the breakdown or thinning of this part of the retina and causes progressive vision loss through gradual blurriness in central areas while peripheral vision remains clear. There are two forms of age-related macular degeneration: dry and wet. For most people diagnosed with AMD, dry forms prevail – typically when tiny deposits called drusen form beneath their retinas – though alone this does not lead to vision loss – once disease progression progresses further deposits may lift and interfere with normal blood flow causing further damage – further degrading vision loss over time.

At this stage, central vision becomes blurry and it becomes difficult to read, drive or recognize faces. Someone with advanced dry AMD may notice straight lines appear crookedly and that their center of their field of vision appears blank or dark; furthermore they will have difficulty seeing fine details and colors clearly. Therefore it is imperative that anyone experiencing these symptoms seek medical advice immediately.

Wet macular degeneration occurs when abnormal blood vessels form under the retina and leak fluid or bleed, causing scarring that leads to permanent central vision loss. While less common than dry AMD, wet AMD requires immediate treatment in order to avoid permanent central vision loss.

Laser surgery is available for wet AMD to eliminate its fragile, new blood vessels quickly and effectively. New blood vessels may form and compromise central vision within just weeks.

Dry AMD may not be curable, but you can reduce its risk by taking vitamin supplements and eating healthily. Regular visits to an eye doctor are also advised in order to monitor progress. Smoking cessation and managing any other health conditions such as high blood pressure or diabetes will further help lower risk.

Retinal Vein Occlusions (RVO)

Retinal Vein Occlusions (RVOs) are blockages in the veins carrying oxygen and nutrients to the retina, known as central retinal vein occlusions (CRVOs) or one of its branch retinal vein occlusions (BRVOs). When this obstruction happens in one of the central retinal veins (CRVO), this condition is called central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) while when one occurs on one of its branch retinal veins it is called branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO). These blockages may lead to fluid accumulation or swelling within central regions of your eyes which in turn impair vision due to loss.

Hemorrhages and fluid leakage are also symptoms of these conditions; fortunately, treatment can typically help restore vision in most instances.

As the initial step in treating RVO, an eye exam must include a visual acuity test. Your doctor will dilate your pupils with drops before using a special lens to examine the back of your eye; searching for signs such as retinal vein occlusions, hemorrhages and fluid accumulation. Your physician may also perform fluorescein angiography or optical coherence tomography (OCT-optical coherence tomography).

Your doctor will measure blood flow through retinal veins and assess any damage. He or she may also check for a condition known as neovascularization, in which abnormal new blood vessels sprout within the retina.

BRVO occurs when new blood vessels develop on retinal veins and leak fluid into the vitreous gel of the eye, leading to macula edema that may require intraocular injections of anti-VEGF agents that stop new vessel growth and fluid leakage; such medications come in various formulations and dosages depending on individual patient needs.

Remember if you have RVO that regular visits with a retina specialist are essential. They allow your retina specialist to monitor both progression of disease and effectiveness of treatments; additionally if any complications develop they can be treated more aggressively to avoid permanent visual loss.

Macular Telangiectasia Type 2

Macular Telangiectasia Type 2 (MacTel 2) is an unusual form of dry macular degeneration with unique clinical characteristics. Unlike the more prevalent wet form of AMD, there is no sign of leakage or bleeding in the central macula; nevertheless, MacTel progresses and can even lead to legal blindness.

MacTel 2 symptoms typically include blurry vision and distortions in the center of visual field, although many people are often unaware of their symptoms until seen by a trained optometrist or certified ophthalmologist at another medical appointment for another condition. Furthermore, MacTel can cause visual changes very rapidly. It’s a significant risk factor for wet AMD.

Early stages of wet AMD can be detected using optical coherence tomography (OCTA). An OCTA shows an early loss of parafoveal retinal transparency extending up to 1dd from the center of the foveola, as well as reduced macular cup size and reductions. Fluorescein angiograms often detect small pigment clumps similar to wet AMD; however, unlike wet AMD leakage does not involve exudation.

MacTel in its more advanced stage can be recognized by a loss of macular cup and appearance of irregular, overlapping, incompletely pigmented vascular loops that extend from the outer retina into it and form hyper-reflective spots on SD-OCT. Furthermore, inner retinal space becomes larger with hypo-reflective areas expanding with hypo-reflective spots increasing irregularly; larger and irregular telangiectatic vessels appear as well; eventually the capillary network distils further and eventually forms into fibrovascular scars with anastomoses which anastomoses.

This stage of disease is more prevalent than its earlier ones due to diabetes’ prevalence and impact. Retinal vasculature becomes compromised by lack of endothelial cells; as a result, telangiectatic vessels become dilated and less organized, leading to reduced inner retinal layer thickness and an increase in area opacity. Furthermore, retinal pigment epithelium becomes thinner and more vulnerable to photo-oxidative damage during this phase.

Visudyne

Wet macular degeneration occurs as a result of abnormal blood vessels leaking fluid and causing swelling on the retina, leading to vision loss that typically first affects one eye, before gradually progressing across both eyes over time. Researchers suspect this condition is caused by activating specific types of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF).

Visudyne can help slow or even stop this form of macular degeneration through photodynamic therapy, an in-office procedure which takes only minutes to perform. After being injected into an arm vein and traveling directly to the eye where it is activated by non-thermal laser light activation, Visudyne destroys leaky blood vessels without harming surrounding tissue and has proven successful in clinical trials in helping slow vision loss in those suffering from wet macular degeneration.

Prior to Visudyne being introduced as a treatment option for wet AMD, surgical removal was the only viable treatment method. Now however, an FDA-approved drug that prevents abnormal blood vessels from growing is being combined with laser light therapy in an effort to slow or stop progression of this condition. Visudyne should become available within weeks in the United States; it’s expected to become one of the first proven solutions that prevent vision loss associated with wet form macular degeneration; administered at both Casey Eye Institute at OHSU and Devers Eye Institute Legacy Health System who both helped create it’s development.

Visudyne is a photosensitizer, meaning that its active ingredients only become effective when exposed to specific types of light. Therefore, it can only be activated through laser light treatment and should therefore only be administered when needed. When administered this way, Visudyne travels through the bloodstream from arm injection to eye where laser light activation turns it on – helping leaking blood vessels close down and prevent further vision loss. Similar treatments have also been proven safe and effective against various cancer types as evidenced in clinical trials.