Age-related macular degeneration is a progressive eye condition that gradually damages central vision. While it can pose significant difficulties to daily activities, advancements in assistive technologies and low vision rehabilitation may help people manage this disease better.

AMD is most often manifested through dry macular degeneration, in which the macula becomes thinner over time and deposits of protein called drusen form underneath the retina. While individual drusen don’t cause symptoms directly, as they grow larger they may result in blurry spots appearing centrally within your vision.

Drugs

Macular degeneration, which affects the retina (light-sensitive tissue that detects fine details in your central vision), can result in slow or sudden vision loss, with straight lines appearing bent or colors looking muted. There are two forms of macular degeneration: dry and wet. Dry macular degeneration tends to lead to slower vision loss while wet macular degeneration may lead to much faster loss; abnormal blood vessels grow under the retina and leak or bleed under it causing irreparable damage to central vision.

Wet AMD can only be treated effectively using medications that either reduce new blood vessel growth or stop fluid build-up, known as Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) inhibitors such as bevacizumab, ranibizumab, and pegaptanib VEGF inhibitors are administered at four-weekly intervals to the eye in order to slow progression of wet macular degeneration – local anesthetic is used prior to administering injections for additional comfort.

Fluorescein angiography can provide another method for monitoring macular degeneration. A yellow dye injected into one vein in your arm and passed through all your blood vessels is then photographed by special cameras, providing your doctor with images to look for new blood vessels or fluid under your retina.

Bevacizumab, an experimental eye medication approved for use by the FDA in 2012, was recently administered intravitreally to treat wet macular degeneration. As an antibody that blocks the activity of VEGF, bevacizumab was evaluated in clinical trial called INTREPID to test its safety and efficacy; this double-masked study compares bevacizumab against an injection of placebo plus standard of care anti-VEGF therapy.

Studies published by Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science found that eye drops could provide similar anti-VEGF medication results as injections for wet macular degeneration. The droplets contain cell-penetrating peptides that distribute medication from the surface of the eye to macula; this represents a promising development as patients may avoid discomforting monthly injections altogether.

Laser Surgery

The retina is a thin layer of cells at the back of your eye that detect light and send impulses to your brain, providing straight-ahead and detail-oriented vision. AMD damages this central area known as the macula, providing straight ahead detail vision. As AMD progresses further it may damage this important region and start blurring or disappearing your central vision altogether while other areas remain clear, so other things still become visible but you won’t be able to focus on fine print or straight lines as easily. Luckily there are treatments available that slow progression and help preserve what vision remains.

There are two forms of AMD: dry and wet. Dry AMD causes the macula to thin, leading to tiny clumps of protein known as drusen to form beneath the retina and lead to gradual loss of central vision. Treatment for dry AMD includes specific vitamin supplements as well as wearing sunglasses, not smoking and eating an array of green vegetables and fish as part of a healthy diet.

Wet AMD is characterized by abnormal blood vessel growth that leaks fluid beneath the retina, often through leaky veins. Treatment typically includes monthly or bimonthly injections of an anti-VEGF drug which reduces abnormal vessel numbers while slowing their leakage rate. Your doctor may also suggest laser surgery to seal off these new blood vessels; this procedure works by shining laser light at them until their destruction.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT), another laser treatment option available to treat wet AMD, involves injecting verteporfin. Once in your eye, this drug adheres to new blood vessels before being activated by special lights which shine onto them and damages their walls, slowing vision loss.

Vitamins

Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD), unfortunately, cannot be reversed completely; however, the symptoms can be managed through vitamin supplements and lifestyle modifications. AMD works by gradually weakening one part of the eye known as the macula and making it harder to see fine details close up or drive safely. Most people suffer from dry AMD which features deposits on retinal deposits with abnormal blood vessel patterns; sometimes this leads to sudden vision loss from leakage of blood vessels in retina.

Studies have repeatedly shown the association between an increased intake of eye-healthy nutrients such as lutein, zeaxanthin, omega-3 fatty acids, and zinc with reduced risks of early stage AMD. A large, randomized clinical trial known as Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) demonstrated this with participants receiving supplements of vitamins C & E beta carotene & zinc having 25% reduced chances of progressing to advanced AMD; later following up studies revealed significant benefits still in terms of progression to advanced AMD progression risk reduction over 10 year follow up studies (AREDS2 formula).

The new study published Monday in the Archives of Internal Medicine provides some hope to vitamin supplement users following recent research showing their ineffectiveness against disease prevention. It’s the first randomized trial demonstrating that B-6, folic acid and B-12 significantly decrease risk for AMD early forms.

Though AREDS research endorses nutritional supplement use for people at high risk of AMD progression, this does not restore vision lost from this disease and may even be harmful. Therefore it’s essential that you speak to your ophthalmologist at Catalina Eye Care regarding whether or not taking these supplements would be best suited to you and find out the optimal dosage and frequency for yourself. You should also discuss any other health issues or medications being taken as well as any side effects or interactions they might present with these supplements.

Lifestyle Changes

Age-related macular degeneration is an eye disease that leads to vision loss. It occurs when the central portion of retina, known as macula, gradually degenerates over time, becoming irreparably blind in people over 50. While there is currently no cure, early detection and intervention can significantly lessen its impact.

Macular degeneration occurs in two forms: dry and wet macular degeneration. While dry macular degeneration is much more prevalent, wet macular degeneration (AMD) is far less common but often more serious, as abnormal blood vessels grow under the retina and leak fluid into it, damaging macula cells directly. While there is no treatment available to combat AMD directly, early detection could prevent severe vision loss from taking place.

Reduce the rate of dry macular degeneration by eating more green vegetables, quitting smoking, maintaining a healthy weight and blood pressure level, and having regular eye exams with Associated Eye Physicians’ ophthalmologists. They’ll be able to check for signs like drusen (yellow deposits underneath your retina that indicate changes to central vision) or have you view an Amsler grid (an eye exam exam that looks similar to a checkerboard pattern); any changes in central vision could make its lines distort which indicates early stages of AMD.

Associated Eye Physicians can offer many tools and resources that will allow you to continue living the best possible life while living with AMD, such as magnifiers, tinted glasses, digital devices and community resources that will assist with providing independent living options.

As well as diet and lifestyle factors, other risk factors for macular degeneration include age, smoking, family history, gender and race. Knowing your family history with the condition as well as getting regular eye exams from an ophthalmologist are crucial in providing your best chance for vision preservation.