Dry macular degeneration occurs when light-sensitive retina tissue, known as the macula, thins with age. As it causes gradual loss of central vision but doesn’t impact peripheral (side) vision and rarely leads to blindness.

Wet macular degeneration occurs when abnormal blood vessels form beneath the retina and leak blood or fluid into its center, slowing its progression over time. There are medications available to slow this progression of wet macular degeneration.

Vitamins

Macular degeneration is the gradual breakdown of the macula, a small area in the retina at the back of your eye responsible for central vision and allowing fine details to be seen clearly. Macular degeneration is one of the leading causes of non-reversible blindness among people aged 65 or above; symptoms may include blurry or distorted central vision as well as dark areas nearer your field of view. There are two forms of macular degeneration – dry and wet; the former typically involves slowly growing white or yellow deposits under your retina known as drusen that do not lead to any vision loss but are risk factors for progression towards wet macular degeneration.

Certain vitamins can reduce your risk for AMD or help protect existing cases, including lutein and zeaxanthin found in spinach, kale, collard greens, turnip greens and corn; vitamin C, E and zinc from spinach; The Age-Related Eye Disease Studies (AREDS and AREDS2) have shown that taking high dose supplements of these vitamins may slow dry macular degeneration progress – best sources are colorful fruits and vegetables, dark leafy greens, egg yolks and seafood like salmon and tuna.

Anti-VEGF drugs have been approved as medications to treat wet macular degeneration. These anti-VEGF medications work by inhibiting abnormal blood vessel formation beneath the retina that bleed or leak fluid into your eye, leading to severe central vision loss but preserving peripheral vision.

If you suffer from wet AMD, your doctor may suggest injecting Avastin intravitreally; this medication blocks vascular endothelial growth factor proteins associated with abnormal blood vessel formation in wet AMD. Westside Eye Clinic can perform intravitreal injections of this medication. An alternative proven effective long-acting version known as Eylea has also proven itself useful.

Anti-angiogenesis drugs

Blood vessel formation, or angiogenesis, is an integral component of organ development and growth, but when out of balance with other aspects of our bodies it can cause pathologies such as cancer progression and neovascular age-related macular degeneration. Anti-angiogenesis medications have proven their worth as powerful treatment strategies if combined with other approaches for these diseases.

As in Neovascular AMD, cell signals that initiate the disease cause abnormal, immature and leaky blood vessels to form underneath the retina in response to VEGF signals, compromising vision through fluid exudation that compromises the blood-retinal barrier and disrupting vision. Drugs designed to neutralize VEGF can stop this growth of aberrant blood vessels and restore normal retinal anatomy.

These medications, known as angiogenic inhibitors, include ranibizumab (Lucentis), bevacizumab (Avastin) and aflibercept (Eylea). The FDA has approved these angiogenic inhibitors to treat DME – a serious complication of DR, often accompanying macular hemorrhage and neovascularization that leads to permanent visual loss.

Usha Chakravarthy from Bascom Palmer Eye Institute presented evidence at the 2023 Angiogenesis, Exudation, and Degeneration virtual conference in Miami that suggests ways to detect geographical atrophy early and slow its progress. Furthermore, researchers are developing solutions that treat disease at its cellular level rather than simply stopping fluid flow.

Given their potential impact on unborn fetuses, these drugs should generally not be administered to pregnant or may-be-pregnant women or those considering becoming pregnant. Furthermore, recent surgery patients should avoid them as they could disrupt healing processes; those suffering from certain health problems like blood disorders or heart diseases are less likely to benefit from using these medicines; but doctors continue to evaluate the safety and efficacy of such medications in a range of circumstances.

Laser treatment

Macular degeneration is a progressive loss of central vision that makes everyday tasks difficult or impossible, such as threading a needle or driving. Its cause lies within a breakdown in the macula – an area at the back of your eye that allows for clear vision of fine details – leading to blurriness, dark areas or distortion in vision. There’s currently no cure for dry macular degeneration but research continues in an effort to slow its progress.

Medication may assist those living with wet macular degeneration by curtailing abnormal blood vessel growth and stopping leaks that threaten your vision. Laser treatment also offers effective relief from this type of macular degeneration by using focused beams of light to destroy leaking vessels and protect against further damage to their vision, though it can leave permanent dark spots behind after using laser therapy for treating wet macular degeneration.

First step in treating dry macular degeneration is understanding its cause. Your doctor can use an Amsler grid to examine your vision and detect any dark areas or distortions that might indicate macular degeneration, while fluorescein angiography and optical coherence tomography (OCT) tests may also be suggested by your ophthalmologist. Fluorescein angiography involves injecting yellow dye into a vein in your arm before taking photos as it travels through blood vessels lining your retina – an OCT test can detect whether new abnormal blood vessels are emerging beneath.

OCT involves scanning the retina using a machine, producing detailed images of its layers that reveal any changes or signs of drusen growth in your retina. Your doctor may prescribe specific vitamins and minerals such as lutein, zeaxanthin or zinc that could assist with macular degeneration treatment.

Other medications

Macular degeneration cannot yet be treated completely; however, medication can slow its progress and help protect further vision loss. Such medicines include vitamins, minerals, zinc supplements and anti-angiogenic drugs; additionally it’s wise to utilize an Amsler grid regularly and see an ophthalmologist as soon as you notice any changes to central vision, particularly if at risk for wet macular degeneration.

About 10% of people living with dry AMD will progress to wet macular degeneration (also called exudative or neovascular AMD), a more damaging form. Wet AMD develops when abnormal blood vessels grow beneath the retina and leak blood and fluid onto it, damaging light-sensitive macular cells in your eye and leading to blurry or blind spots in central vision. They typically appear where there are weak spots due to protein deposits called drusen or atrophy in areas of retina weakened by protein deposits called drusen or atrophy; an underlying process known as neovascularization may play a part – your body attempts at creating new blood vessels in an effort to deliver oxygen and nutrients directly onto retina cells in central vision areas weakened by protein deposits called drusen or atrophy of retina cells in your eye resulting in central vision being affected causing blurry or blind spots being noticed more often when visual stimuli are encountered at distance when viewing distant objects close up close-up!

Typically, wet macular degeneration (WMD) can be treated by monthly injections of anti-angiogenesis drugs that restrict abnormal blood vessel growth and stop them leaking and bleeding. These anti-angiogenesis drugs (VEGF blocks or anti-angiogenesis drugs) work by inhibiting an eye protein that promotes vessel growth – this treatment often helps slow progression of wet AMD and even stop any further vision loss in many cases.

If you are at high risk for wet macular degeneration, photodynamic therapy may be prescribed to address leaking blood vessels in your eye. This treatment employs low doses of medication in combination with laser treatment to eliminate cells that leak blood and fluid into your eye; though less effective than previous methods, photodynamic therapy doesn’t require regular visits to an ophthalmologist and requires no monthly visits for visits to be treated effectively.