Macular degeneration affects the macula – the central portion of your vision – which may cause blurry or dimmed central vision and make reading, driving or recognising faces difficult. It is the leading cause of legal blindness among people over 50 years of age.

For wet macular degeneration, there are medications which can limit the development of new blood vessels and stop leakage under the retina. Laser light surgery also offers effective solutions in closing abnormal vessels to stop leaks and leakage.

Photodynamic Therapy (PDT)

Macular degeneration affects the macula of your eyes – the central portion that provides sharp, clear vision for activities like reading and driving. Symptoms can range from mild distortion of straight lines to full loss of central vision depending on age and type.

Though there is no cure for dry macular degeneration, a new treatment can slow its progress. This drug works by decreasing oxidative stress which leads to inflammation. Researchers have discovered that patients treated can see up to eight more letters clearly on a chart after just six months of therapy.

Implanted cells secrete chemical messengers which interact with nearby retinal cells to cause them to behave more like healthy, newly implanted ones; this process is known as paracrine signaling and represents an important advancement that could expedite development of this innovative technology.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) employs both medicine and light to attack cancerous or abnormal blood vessel growths that form within the body, such as those seen in neovascular age-related macular degeneration. Doctors administer injections that target cancer cells while remaining non-toxic for normal cells; later on, light therapy is applied which activates this medicine so it destroys cancer cells while leaving other parts of your body undamaged.

Recent clinical results of an innovative treatment using verteporfin as a photosensitizing agent showed encouraging signs for slowing wet macular degeneration progression. Participants of the trial were able to maintain central vision for up to two years – suggesting PDT has the potential to be an effective remedy against wet AMD, though more research must be completed in this field.

At present, there is no cure for wet macular degeneration; its impact can be devastating for its victims. But there are treatments available to slow its progress; most commonly medications that block abnormal blood vessel growth such as ranibizumab and aflibercept.

Anti-angiogenesis Drugs

Angiogenesis (the formation of new blood vessels) is an essential process necessary for cell growth, wound healing and other normal body processes. Unfortunately, however, angiogenesis has also been implicated in several pathologies, such as cancer progression and age-related macular degeneration neovascularization; its inhibition offers promising therapeutic solutions to various diseases.

Anti-angiogenesis drugs are designed to inhibit the formation of new blood vessels within tumors or other tissues, slowing or stopping their growth or spreading cancerous cells elsewhere. Unlike traditional chemotherapy which attacks both healthy and malignant cells, anti-angiogenesis drugs only target cells that need to grow quickly; this reduces side effects like mouth sores and nausea and has proven more successful at stopping tumor growth than its counterpart.

Researchers recently conducted a clinical trial using an anti-angiogenesis drug to treat wet macular degeneration. Their remarkable success enabled patients to see eight more letters on a vision chart after just six months of treatment, offering hope for a cure of such devastating condition.

Anti-angiogenesis drugs currently approved in the US include Avastin, Lucentis and Eylea – three anti-angiogenesis injections given as injections into the eye that work by blocking vascular endothelial growth factor which stimulates abnormal blood vessel growth and scar tissue formation in retina. These three anti-angiogenesis medications have revolutionized macular degeneration treatment as they prevent blindness for many who would otherwise go blind without them.

Researchers are exploring various anti-angiogenesis drugs with the hopes of finding a cure for wet macular degeneration and other eye diseases. Their studies are being supported by grants from California Institute for Regenerative Medicine.

Vitamins

Vitamins are essential micronutrients that act as coenzymes and auxiliary compounds in various metabolic reactions, while the human body only requires very small quantities to meet growth and metabolism needs. They play an integral part in protecting health while warding off disease. There are two distinct categories of vitamins: fat-soluble and water-soluble. Water-soluble vitamins include vitamin C (the master antioxidant), B1 (critical for metabolism of glucose and DNA synthesis), B2 (for breaking down carbohydrates, lipids and proteins), and B6 (essential in creating amino acids from proteins). Dietary supplements of lutein and zeaxanthin as well as omega 3 fatty acids have been linked with decreased risks of macular degeneration. At CPOB staff members serve as both Coordinating Center and Photograph Reading Center of Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS). Please click here for a list of publications produced from this study.

Laser Therapy

Those experiencing early stage macular degeneration may benefit from laser therapy treatment, which is designed to slow its progress while improving vision. You must follow your physician’s instructions in order to get optimal results from this approach.

As part of your first step, have a doctor perform an eye exam. He or she will look in your eyes with various instruments to test your vision, using an Amsler grid chart to detect changes to central vision – the part needed for reading or driving straight ahead. Your doctor may also administer an orange-red dye injection into one of your arm veins to aid with diagnosis and testing; this dye travels directly to retinal blood vessels to highlight any abnormal ones, helping doctors determine if macular degeneration has progressed into its wet form form.

Laser therapy uses painless laser light to destroy abnormal blood vessels that form during wet macular degeneration, stopping or slowing its loss and improving quality of life. The procedure can be performed at your doctor’s office within minutes and results are usually seen almost instantly.

FASEB Journal published a groundbreaking study which demonstrated how nanosecond laser therapy for treating retinal disease could reduce further retinal damage by improving support cell health in the back of your eye. This type of laser was the first ever shown to benefit these cells and prevent further retinal damage.

Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) is an efficient and safe solution to age-related macular degeneration, one of the main causes of irreversible blindness among adults over 50. The Food and Drug Administration has approved Visudyne as an FDA-approved procedure that reduces advanced AMD, including wet macular degeneration by decreasing fluid buildup caused by choroidal neovascularization choroidal neovascularization; thus lowering its risk and providing relief against severe central vision loss in people affected by it.