Age-related macular degeneration is a condition in which deterioration of the central portion of your retina at the back of the eye (macula) causes central vision to become blurry or hazy, leading to blurred or dimmed vision in people aged over 50 and is the leading cause of blindness among them.

Macular degeneration often reduces central vision while not impacting peripheral sight, enabling you to continue engaging in your daily activities and taking care of yourself.

What is Macular Degeneration?

Age related macular degeneration is a progressive eye condition affecting vision in the central part of your retina (called macula) due to damage or breakdown in light-sensing cells in your retina. This condition is one of the leading causes of legal blindness for people aged 55 years or over in the United States and treatment can help slow or stop progression to advanced macular degeneration.

The macula is responsible for central vision that allows us to read, drive a car, work on computers or smartphones, recognize colors and faces, see fine details in both near and distant objects and see finer details in both objects at various distances. Macular degeneration may lead to side vision being diminished; for instance, you might still be able to read numbers on clocks but not their hands, since your optic nerve still provides some peripheral vision.

Macular degeneration occurs in two forms, dry and wet. Dry AMD is the more prevalent form and occurs when yellow or white deposits of fatty protein called drusen form under the retina. Over time these drusen can grow larger, eventually damaging light-sensitive cells within your macula and leading to gradual central vision loss while not impacting peripheral vision at first. As they increase in size and start eroding your retinal layers further down your vision starts blurring or becoming cloudy altogether.

Wet macular degeneration is an aggressive form of macular degeneration caused by abnormal blood vessels growing under the retina and leaking blood or fluid into the macula, damaging retinal cells permanently and leading to rapid vision loss.

As wet macular degeneration can lead to blindness, it is critical that you visit your doctor as soon as you notice symptoms such as sudden central vision loss or changes in color or intensity of vision. Your physician can administer an Amsler grid test to check central vision and detect new blood vessels; treatment options may include drug therapy such as Visudyne(r), photodynamic therapy or laser treatment.

Drusen

Drusen are yellow or white deposits of extracellular material that accumulate in the macula over time. While some small (“hard”) drusen are natural with age and often found near the central portion of the retina (the nerve layer that transmits light signals to your brain), larger and more numerous drusen may indicate macular degeneration early. Your doctor can detect them with an eye exam.

The macula is part of the retina (light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye). It provides sharp, straight-ahead vision for seeing fine details like faces, letters and street signs. Macular degeneration may blur this portion of your vision into looking wavy or dark, making driving, reading or performing other activities that require clear vision harder to do. While macular degeneration will not lead to total blindness it may make life more challenging when performing daily activities that depend on clear straight-ahead vision like driving, reading or performing other tasks that require clear straight-ahead vision such as driving or reading!

Macular degeneration can be divided into two subsets, dry AMD and wet AMD. Wet AMD forms when abnormal blood vessels develop within the macula, leading to leakage of fluid into this area. Though less prevalent than dry AMD, wet AMD may develop faster-acting symptoms with potentially more serious consequences on vision loss.

No treatment exists for wet macular degeneration; however, you can lower your risk by not smoking, wearing protective sunglasses, and eating foods rich in vitamins C and E. Regular eye exams with a doctor may also help identify any early-stage drusen which might otherwise lead to issues in your eyesight.

While it’s impossible to prevent the formation of drusen, medications exist which can slow the progression of macular degeneration and potentially improve your vision. Anti-angiogenic agents work by blocking proteins which encourage abnormal blood vessel growth within the macula; available as injections into the eye are Macugen, Avastin and Lucentis as examples of such treatments. Visudyne laser treatment also uses photodynamic stimulation of pigment cells within retina to increase their production – these new pigment cells help replace lost macula cells to improve vision further.

Blind Spots

Macular degeneration, commonly referred to as AMD, is an innocuous eye condition affecting the central retinal region known as the macula. This area of your eye controls your central vision – such as seeing fine details of straight-ahead objects while driving and facial and color recognition. While AMD causes some loss of central vision, peripheral or side-to-side vision is unaffected and can help with tasks such as reading, writing and recognising faces. While AMD causes central blindness it does not lead to complete blindness because peripheral vision remains intact allowing peripheral vision is invaluable in getting around or dealing with other tasks such as reading writing and facial recognition.

Macular degeneration typically takes the form of dry macular degeneration, which develops gradually over time as light-sensing cells in the macula wear away over time. Early symptoms include blurry central vision which worsens over time; some individuals may even notice dark spots (blind spots) in their central vision due to degraded light-sensing cells working harder and creating an illusion of an apparent dark spot in their visual field.

Other signs of dry macular degeneration include difficulty adapting to low light levels that require brighter lighting for certain activities like reading or recognising faces; decreased facial and color recognition; gradual blurriness that gradually takes over central vision and distortion of straight lines; during a dilated eye exam an eye care professional will check for these symptoms by administering eye drops that dilate or enlarge pupils allowing the doctor a clear view of what lies at the back of each eye.

About 10% of people suffering macular degeneration develop its wet form, which involves abnormal blood vessels forming under the retina and leaking and bleeding onto it. While they may not appear in both eyes at once, prolonged leakage and bleeding increases your risk of losing more central vision.

The wet form of macular degeneration typically progresses more quickly than its dry counterpart and can cause severe vision loss within months or weeks if left untreated. If this is your situation, your ophthalmologist can suggest treatments which may stop or even reverse progression by restricting development of new abnormal blood vessels and bleeding under the retina.

Vision Loss

Macular degeneration is a progressive eye condition that gradually blurs central vision, impacting fine details like faces, clock hands or other straight objects. While macular degeneration typically doesn’t lead to total blindness, it may interfere with everyday activities like driving and reading; however, peripheral (side) vision that remains intact can still be used for these activities.

Macular degeneration comes in two forms – dry and wet macular degeneration. Dry macular degeneration is the more prevalent form, caused by tiny yellow proteins called drusen that build up under the retina and cause its supporting tissues to thin over time, eventually rendering it incapable of supporting its macular area properly and eventually leading to vision loss in its early stages. When AMD becomes more advanced it often goes undetected until further along.

Deterioration can be further accelerated when abnormal blood vessels start growing under the retina and leak fluid or blood, known as wet macular degeneration, leading to rapid vision loss. Luckily, however, medications are now available that can slow this form of macular degeneration and its progression.

When diagnosing wet macular degeneration, retinal specialists may advise using photodynamic therapy or photocoagulation to treat any new blood vessels that appear under the retina. Such treatments may prevent their growth and slow the rate of vision loss while potentially improving one’s vision in some instances.

If you are experiencing changes to your vision, such as blurriness or difficulty recognising objects, it is essential that you schedule an eye exam at Retina Health Institute located in Rockford and Elgin, Illinois. We offer comprehensive eye examinations including dilation retinal exams that can determine whether you have wet or dry macular degeneration and assess its progress. Contact us now to book your appointment; we look forward to meeting you.