Age-related macular degeneration, more commonly known by its acronym ARMD, is a disease which causes blurring to your central vision due to damage to the retina – a light-sensing tissue in the back of your eye. Dry macular degeneration is the most prevalent form of this condition and typically develops slowly over time resulting in gradual vision loss.

Vitamins

Macular degeneration is a progressive eye condition that damages the macula – the part of the retina responsible for central vision – over time, eventually affecting reading, driving a car or recognizing faces. Macular degeneration affects people over 50 and may lead to legal blindness unless treated quickly with vitamins such as C, E, Lutein and Zeaxanthin, with some studies even showing it reversed damage caused by macular degeneration – these vitamins may come packaged together into multivitamin tablets while others can be taken alone as supplements or taken alone over time.

Researchers involved with the groundbreaking AREDS 2 study have identified specific vitamins, minerals and antioxidants proven to slow macular degeneration’s progression. These nutrients can be obtained through eating dark green vegetables, fruits, whole grains and fish in addition to quitting smoking, wearing eye protection when spending time outdoors, exercising moderately and getting regular medical examinations.

When purchasing eye vitamins, it’s essential that they contain all seven “essential 7” items and provide the appropriate ratio of lutein-to-zeaxanthin (5:1 or greater) in their supplement. A good eye vitamin will also contain lycopene as this natural filter blocks blue light reaching our eyes – one such product available is Preserve Mac Forte Advanced which fulfills this important criteria perfectly by providing both these key elements with proper ratios as well as supporting other aspects of eye health and overall body wellness.

Laser Treatment

When fluid leaks form under the retina in wet macular degeneration, laser photocoagulation can help halt further vision loss. This process uses high-energy beams of light to destroy abnormal blood vessels that cause leakage, seal leaks and reduce new blood vessel growth; additionally, laser treatment also seals leaks and prevents new ones from growing; however it cannot restore lost vision and may leave behind a small blind spot in your field of vision.

Scientists are working on ways to enhance laser treatment for wet macular degeneration. They are testing drugs and special types of laser to see if they can slow vision loss rates among those suffering from wet macular degeneration, and find ways to aid recovery after laser treatments have taken place.

This outpatient procedure, performed under local anesthetic, involves sitting comfortably on a chair while looking directly ahead or at a target light with one eye while being administered an anesthetic injection in the other eye. Your doctor will place a lens onto one of your eyes to focus the laser onto the area of the retina that needs treatment; you may feel slight discomfort for several hours post treatment; over-the-counter pain relievers like acetaminophen may help ease any irritation or sensitivity following treatment; such relievers may help.

Another alternative is laser eye surgery that can be conducted in your own home. Your doctor will place a small contact lens on one eye and press a button on a hand-held device to fire the laser, which will flash and burn a small spot on the retina before repeating this process with both eyes. After each laser treatment session, injections containing anti-bleeding medications will follow to maintain vision health.

Laser surgery can be very successful at treating central serous macular degeneration, provided fluid leaks are located away from the fovea (centre of retina). Unfortunately, laser surgery cannot restore vision or stop further vision loss and only works effectively when treating wet macular degeneration.

Anti-Angiogenesis Drugs

Angiogenesis drugs provide effective relief in macular degeneration by controlling the formation of new blood vessels that form and leak in the retina, leading to vision loss. They can stop progressive loss of vision while even improving it for some patients. They can also treat other conditions involving excessive blood vessel formation such as arthritis. They help ease arthritis pain by blocking release of enzymes responsible for creating new vessels which destroy cartilage and other tissue in joints.

Macular degeneration is the gradual breakdown of the retina – light-sensing nerve tissue at the back of your eye – that causes blurry or dimmed vision, making reading or other tasks hard. Macular degeneration is the leading cause of irreversible blindness among people aged 60 or older and can take two forms: dry and wet. Dry macular degeneration involves yellow deposits known as drusen infiltrating into retinal nerve fibers gradually leading to gradual loss of straight-ahead vision over time while wet form is more rapidly progressed by abnormal blood vessels leaking into retinal nerve cells resulting in fluid accumulation resulting in permanent vision loss.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved anti-angiogenic medications such as Macugen, Avastin and Lucentis to treat wet macular degeneration patients. Injections directly into the eye reduce choroidal neovascularization caused by wet AMD patients; results of clinical trials show nearly half of those receiving these medications have either stabilized or improved their vision as a result of treatment with these anti-angiogenic medicines.

These medications work by targeting vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). This protein encourages new blood vessel formation in the retina that may bleed and lead to macular degeneration; anti-angiogenic drugs target it and block its action, helping slow or stop its progress and potentially slow or stop wet macular degeneration altogether.

Recent research examined the effect of anti-VEGF therapies on patient outcomes, such as visual impairment and quality of life, healthcare costs and mortality. Researchers discovered that use of these drugs had led to significant reductions in incidence of neovascular age-related macular degeneration as well as shift away from less effective treatment approaches, along with overall cost reductions in care costs.

Longevinex

Longevinex contains bioflavonoids that bind with minerals such as copper. If your diet lacks this vital mineral, frontal headaches, tiredness during sleep or Achilles heel soreness could result. If this occurs for you, discontinuing Longevinex and increasing consumption of foods that provide this essential element such as nuts or cocoa may provide additional sources. Consumption of magnesium and vitamin C should also prove helpful.

Longevinex, a new resveratrol-based product, has been demonstrated through animal experiments to be cardioprotective, meaning it protects against heart attacks that are responsible for so many deaths each year. Longevinex substantially increased heart pumping pressure and improved blood flow to the aorta when compared with plain resveratrol; additionally it doubled survival of cardiac muscle cells (cardiomyocytes) from experimentally-induced heart attacks while decreasing death significantly more than plain resveratrol.

Longevinex compounds also help limit and remove excess minerals such as iron, calcium and copper through chelation (key-lay-shun). With age comes an accumulation of these metals in our tissues and organs that calcify over time and interfere with proper blood circulation and cell production – these harmful metals accumulate calcify quickly over time and hinder these vital processes – Longevinex removes these toxic metals through this chelation process.

Researchers recently conducted an animal study that demonstrated Longevinex can significantly decrease malignant cells in livers and lungs and prevent tumor growth, as well as prevent blood vessel formation that feed cancerous tumors, invade retinas behind eyes or feed cancerous tumors in mice. The effects can be attributed to its content of resveratrol and other small molecules binding with microRNA 21, which then down-regulates genes that adapt malignant cells to low oxygen environments; similar to effects documented through epidemiological studies.