An ophthalmologist who specializes in treating age-related macular degeneration discusses new treatments and their effect on vision.

Macular degeneration may transition to its wet form, characterized by leaky blood vessels beneath the retina and vision loss. A diet rich in essential vitamins may lower one’s risk for this form of macular degeneration.

What is Dry Macular Degeneration?

Age-related macular degeneration occurs due to deterioration and breakdown of the macula, which is located at the center of your retina (light-sensitive tissue lining the back of your eye). The macula provides central vision, enabling you to see fine details clearly. When macular degeneration progresses, central vision blurs with dark areas or distorted images; reading or driving become harder; colors become less distinguishable; however this disease does not lead to total blindness – only peripheral (side) vision remains normal despite total blindness due to remaining side (peripheral) vision remaining normal as perpendicular vision remains normal despite this disease progressing.

Dry macular degeneration occurs as your retina thins with age and tiny protein deposits called drusen form, leading to gradual central vision loss without pain or complete loss of vision. Left untreated, it may progress into wet AMD; abnormal blood vessels grow under your retina leaking fluid which leads to rapid central vision loss and more serious conditions than dry AMD.

No cure exists for wet macular degeneration; however, regular eye exams can slow its progress and help slow its progression. Your eye doctor can determine if you have dry or wet form of macular degeneration and recommend an appropriate regimen of vitamins, minerals and exercise to lower risk. They may also perform a special test called Fluorescein angiography which involves injecting yellow dye into a vein before using special camera technology to take photos of retina as it absorbs it.

As there is no cure for advanced wet macular degeneration, you can improve your vision by getting regular injections of Lucentis or Avastin (two drugs that block new blood vessel growth that leak fluid and destroy retinal cells), available from an ophthalmologist. Receiving early treatment could improve vision significantly – particularly if family history puts you at higher risk. Your eye doctor can detect early signs during an annual comprehensive dilated eye exam that your ophthalmologist can conduct; contact them yearly.

How Does Dry Macular Degeneration Cause Vision Loss?

Macular degeneration occurs when retinal damage causes your macula to stop working correctly, leading to central vision loss while leaving peripheral vision unaffected. Your peripheral vision remains normal during macular degeneration; however.

There are two forms of macular degeneration – wet and dry. Dry AMD is more prevalent and usually progresses gradually over time; yellow deposits called drusen accumulate under the retina over time, leading to vision loss. More serious forms include wet AMD which occurs when abnormal blood vessels grow beneath the retina that leak fluid, cause leakages and destroy RPE layers over time, leading to severe vision loss over time.

Macular degeneration risk increases with age, family history, race and smoking – these may all play a factor as can certain health conditions like cardiovascular disease and diabetes, which increase its progression.

At first, macular degeneration presents itself through blurry or distorted straight lines, caused by damage to photoreceptors in your eye responsible for central vision. Your peripheral vision remains unaffected so you can still drive and walk safely; however, reading or recognising faces might become harder, while colors might seem muted.

There is no cure for dry macular degeneration; however, diet rich in green leafy vegetables and taking specific vitamins may provide benefits. Some researchers suggest taking drugs which prevent protein breakdown as one strategy to slow its progression.

One-time gene therapy could potentially offer the only long-term solution to wet age-related macular degeneration (neovascular AMD), which leads to permanent vision loss in approximately 10% of all cases. Scientists are exploring what causes it; mutations may be one possibility and was the focus of Angiogenesis, Exudation and Macular Degeneration 2022 virtual conference held February 11-12th 2019. Presentations at this virtual event offered new evidence on early detecting geography atrophy as well as wet/dry macular degeneration as well as methods of tracking disease progression at both cellular level and disease progression at disease progression levels.

What is the New Treatment for Dry Macular Degeneration 2022?

Early stage age-related macular degeneration begins when tiny protein deposits, known as drusen, begin accumulating beneath the retina and can be detected during an eye exam or photograph of it. Although single deposits may not cause noticeable vision loss immediately, over time they can build up and lead to more serious problems; large deposits place metabolic strain on macula cells which eventually die, eventually leading to gradual central vision loss that affects daily activities such as reading or driving.

Individuals living with dry AMD can effectively delay or stop vision loss by adopting healthy lifestyle choices and taking nutritional supplements. A diet rich in fruits and vegetables that contain antioxidant vitamins has been found to lower risk of macular degeneration; eating fatty fish such as salmon and trout as well as nuts rich in omega-3 fatty acids may further protect against macular degeneration.

Unfortunately, there is no cure for dry age-related macular degeneration; however, it’s essential that you follow your physician’s advice in managing it and visit an eye doctor regularly for regular check-ups and evaluations of your disease. Your eye doctor may offer lifestyle modifications as well as vitamins or medications for managing it.

If you suffer from wet macular degeneration, your doctor may suggest injecting ranibizumab (Avastin). This drug works by blocking a protein in the eye that leads to abnormal blood vessel growth that leaks fluid into retina. Ranibizumab may help protect vision loss in those diagnosed with wet AMD.

Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers are developing a one-time gene therapy treatment to address wet age-related macular degeneration. Early tests of this new approach have yielded promising results, and research is still ongoing with hopes to start human trials within several years.

Dry age-related macular degeneration is the most frequently seen form of macular degeneration, in which cells in the retina break down, leading to blurred or reduced central vision. Wet age-related macular degeneration occurs when abnormal blood vessels grow beneath the retina and leak blood or fluid; this can result in rapid and severe vision loss.

What is the Current Treatment for Dry Macular Degeneration?

There is currently no cure for dry macular degeneration; however, certain nutritional supplements and photodynamic therapy can be used to slow its progress. Furthermore, medications available for wet macular degeneration patients may help stabilize or even improve vision in some cases.

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is one of the primary causes of irreversible blindness in developed countries, leading to gradual loss of central vision due to changes in retina caused by aging and other factors. Although AMD most often affects only one eye at first, later both eyes may become affected. While progression can occur quickly in 10% of cases it rarely leads to abnormal blood vessel formation underneath the retina known as wet macular degeneration or neovascular AMD which results in blood and fluid leakage from these new blood vessels leading to severe visual damage seen from wet AMD forms of this form of the disease.

Macular degeneration has complex causes; some factors that increase its risk include family history, smoking, race and obesity. Other risk factors identified by studies include eating diets low in antioxidants and other essential nutrients; having light-sensitive pigmentation under the retina; having cardiovascular disease history as well.

Macular degeneration often begins with small deposits under the retina called drusen, which are harmless and won’t lead to vision loss; they simply indicate an increased risk of advanced AMD; this condition can be diagnosed when significant drusen appear or when abnormal blood vessels grow beneath the retina (wet macular degeneration).

Current treatments for wet macular degeneration involve injecting medications known as vascular endothelial growth factor inhibitors into the eye to stop new blood vessels that leak and cause symptoms of this form of the disease. Examples of such medicines are Lucentis, Avastin and Eylea – each can slow or even reverse vision loss in 90% of cases and in some instances even improve it.