Macular degeneration is an eye disease characterized by blurriness and dark areas in the center of your vision, often leading to blindness in its early stages. There are two forms of macular degeneration: dry and wet macular degeneration.

Dry macular degeneration is characterized by gradual macular thinning due to protein deposits known as drusen under the retina, eventually progressing into wet macular degeneration as new blood vessels form beneath it and leading to more rapid and severe loss of central vision.

Dry Macular Degeneration

About 80% of people suffering from macular degeneration have the dry form, in which portions of the macula become thinner with age and protein-clumps called drusen form beneath their retinas. People living with dry macular degeneration slowly lose central vision while being able to perceive peripheral objects clearly. While the condition doesn’t cause pain, as it progresses you may notice blurry or dark areas within your field of vision; colors seem darker or straight lines become crookeder; as well as difficulty adapting to dim or bright lights.

If you have the dry form of macular degeneration, it is crucial that you closely monitor your vision using an Amsler grid chart. This will enable you to detect changes in central vision early and identify if it progresses into more serious wet form macular degeneration.

Wet macular degeneration occurs when abnormal blood vessels grow beneath the retina and leak fluid, leading to rapid and severe central vision loss. Around 10% of people living with AMD develop wet ARMD; its risk increases with age.

Though no treatment exists to reverse wet macular degeneration, taking vitamins that include an abundance of antioxidants and zinc may slow its progression. Your eye doctor can suggest an appropriate vitamin regimen.

New treatments may help slow the progression of wet macular degeneration and even improve vision for those who have already lost some central vision, including laser surgery, injecting medications that inhibit blood vessel growth and leakage, and photodynamic therapy.

Researchers are investigating gene therapy as an option to treat wet macular degeneration and other retinal and eye diseases, improving quality of life for many older Americans while possibly delaying or preventing blindness. If you have a family history of macular degeneration or are at greater risk due to age or other factors, be sure to inform your eye care provider so they can conduct regular check-ups for you.

Intraocular Injections

Ninety percent of cases of ARMD fall into the category of dry macular degeneration, in which yellow deposits known as drusen build slowly behind the retina (the thin layer at the back of your eye that helps you see details). Most people with dry macular degeneration experience slow progression while keeping reading vision. Ten percent develop “wet” macular degeneration where abnormal blood vessels grow beneath their retina and release fluid and blood into the macula, leading to rapid vision loss; this form can even lead to legal blindness.

Treatments for wet macular degeneration involve intraocular injections of medications known as VEGF inhibitors such as Lucentis (ranibizumab), Avastin (bevacizumab) or Eylea (aflibercept). These injectable medications directly into the eye to counteract vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), which induces new abnormal blood vessel formation that contributes to wet AMD. Studies show these injections improve vision in up to 90% of patients and stabilize their condition for up to 1-3 months at best; further treatments must be repeated regularly as needed for lasting benefits and to preserve vision.

These injections of VEGF are most successful when abnormal blood vessels are developing away from the center of the retina – where visual detail is highest – or fovea. Unfortunately, approximately one quarter of wet macular degeneration patients develop abnormal blood vessels closer to fovea which makes laser surgery treatment more challenging.

Your ophthalmologist may suggest lifestyle aids like large print books, tape-recorded books or playing cards with larger font sizes, magnified printed material or devices that magnify it as well as low vision aids to maximize what vision remains, including magnifying devices or video cameras that enlarge images while communicating directly to you. In these instances, they could also suggest low vision aids to maximize what remaining vision exists such as magnifying print devices or video cameras capable of enlarging images while talking directly to you.

As part of your best defense against AMDR, regular comprehensive eye exams with your optometrist may help detect early signs of macular degeneration and provide advice to slow its progress with vitamins and diet rich in antioxidants.

Photodynamic Therapy

Photodynamic therapy may be recommended in cases of wet macular degeneration, providing a painless yet noninvasive laser solution. This procedure works by shining low-level laser light onto your eye to activate verteporfin, which works to stick to new blood vessels beneath the retina and stick them shut until they dissolve; which typically takes anywhere from seven days or so.

Wet AMD occurs when fluid and blood leak from abnormal blood vessels that have grown under the retina, commonly referred to as choroidal neovascularization or neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD). This form progresses faster than dry AMD and leads to rapid vision loss; central vision may become blurry within weeks without treatment and eventually lead to complete blindness within months if left untreated.

Wet AMD affects approximately 10% of people with macular degeneration and accounts for 90% of legal blindness caused by it. It does not cause pain, yet can still progress quickly; however, medications can help slow its progress and delay legal blindness due to wet AMD.

Anti-vascular endothelial growth factor or VEGF medications such as Eylea (aflibercept), Lucentis (ranibizumab) and Avastin (bevacizumab), such as Eylea, Lucentis, Avastin and Avastin can prevent new blood vessels leaking under the retina from forming, thus improving vision in some people with wet macular degeneration. Unfortunately, however, these medicines cannot restore vision already lost nor do they cure the disease.

Photocoagulation can also help treat leakage and bleeding associated with wet macular degeneration, using laser technology to dissect leaky blood vessels far enough away from the macula that they won’t damage it. While photocoagulation has shown to slightly slow vision loss rates over time, it does not restore any lost central vision.

Cataract Surgery

Age-Related Macular Degeneration (ARMD) is a progressive eye condition that gradually destroys sharp central vision. A common disease, it affects the macula in your retina – the part of your eye which allows you to see fine details, straight lines and faces clearly. Macular degeneration is one of the primary causes of irreversible blindness among Americans over age 50 and can be divided into dry or wet varieties; dry macular degeneration being most prevalent and producing blurry central vision that worsens over time. Wet macular degeneration is less prevalent but more quickly and severely progressive due to abnormal blood vessels leaking fluid and hemorrhaging underneath the retina. Usually it starts as sudden loss of vision with straight lines becoming crooked or dark spots appearing at random within your vision field.

Wet ARMD can be successfully treated using anti-VEGF medications such as Eylea (aflibercept), Lucentis or Avastin (bevacizumab). These drugs work by blocking vascular endothelial growth factor proteins in the eye that trigger new blood vessel growth that leak blood and fluid underneath the retina, slowing their progression toward legal blindness and legal blindness progression. They have an excellent success rate which may delay progression toward legal blindness progression.

Standard cataract surgery entails extracting the cloudy lens from one eye and replacing it with an artificial implant consisting of a clear plastic lens called an intraocular lens (IOL). There are various kinds of IOLs, including multifocal lenses which provide distance, intermediate, and near vision without glasses being necessary.

Surgery takes about one hour and is generally conducted on an outpatient basis using local anesthesia. While generally safe, there can be potential risks involved:

Bleeding from the eye can result in elevated intraocular pressure (ocular hypertension) that reduces vision. Bleeding may also lead to an unintended condition in which the back of the retina pulls away from its attachment at the back of the eye – this condition could result in blindness; people with history of diabetes are at an increased risk of this happening and should closely monitor glucose levels and follow advice given by their healthcare providers as it regards treatment plans.