Treatment of AMD can substantially slow its progress and even help restore lost vision in certain cases.

Dry Age-related Macular Degeneration, more commonly known as dry ARMD, occurs when the central portion of retina (macula) thins and stops functioning normally, leading to blurry central vision. While many with early or intermediate stage ARMD don’t show symptoms immediately, drusen can be an indicator that progressing ARMD has set in.

Medications

Age Related Macular Degeneration or ARMD is an eye condition which gradually leads to vision loss in the center of your field of view (the macula), making fine details more difficult to see and making reading, driving, working on computers or smartphones, recognizing faces or colors and seeing intensity more challenging. Although ARMD is progressive in nature, there are treatment options which may reduce severe vision loss significantly as well as slow its progress significantly.

Studies have demonstrated the benefits of eating certain foods such as leafy green vegetables, nuts and fish as an aid to AMD prevention. Supplementing your diet with certain vitamins and minerals may also slow its progress; if wet macular degeneration is suspected however, please call us immediately so we can arrange an evaluation appointment to assess further.

Wet macular degeneration is characterized by abnormal new blood vessels forming under the retina and leaking blood and fluid, resulting in macula damage. These blood vessels are known as “neovascularization.” Medications may help prevent or treat wet macular degeneration and its related vision loss.

Bevacizumab, ranibizumab, pegaptanib and aflibercept are four injectable medications designed to block the formation and leakage of new blood vessels in the eye. According to CATT (Controlled Age-Related Macular Degeneration Treatment Trial) Study results, these drugs significantly improved visual acuity for those diagnosed with wet ARMD while decreasing further vision loss rates.

Faricimab-svoa (Vabysmo), developed by Genentech and Novartis, is the only medication currently available that directly stops AMD by blocking an enzyme that encourages new blood vessel formation in the eye. Studies conducted have demonstrated two years of measurable vision improvement compared to placebo for wet neovascular AMD patients; it can only be obtained with a valid valid prescription; injections must take place monthly or bi-monthly and visits with your physician are necessary to inject your eyes – with regular visits including established tests of visual acuity conducted by examiners who do not know who’s group assignment assignment as well as Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT). OCT images will also be obtained.

Laser Surgery

Eye doctors can use laser surgery to address AMD and help slow vision loss, as well as using vitreolysis laser (commonly referred to as the “floater laser”) on floaters – shadowy shadows that float in your field of vision that may be disconcerting – created by cell waste buildup in your retina, creating yellow-white spots known as drusen spots that sometimes appear or vanish randomly; these floaters appear as floating shadows or can appear as moving specks or blobs which move around or vanish at random while interfering with your ability to see. With its 2RT laser procedure on these floaters can reduce size, number and area drusen spots thus improving your vision overall.

The dry form of ARMD is the most prevalent type, and while it doesn’t lead to total blindness it does cause gradual vision loss in central vision. Wet form ARMD occurs less frequently but can result in faster central vision loss.

If you have wet ARMD, anti-VEGF drugs may help to decrease the amount of abnormal blood vessels that sprout and slow leakage from existing vessels. Your doctor can also offer laser therapy as another form of treatment which uses light beams to seal leaky vessels and inhibit their growth – this may prevent further vision loss in some cases of wet ARMD.

Laser vitrectomy is a quick and painless procedure performed at your eye doctor’s office. Before the procedure begins, they will administer anesthetic drops to numb your eyes before inserting a special contact lens designed to focus a laser light beam onto the retina and shine it onto abnormal blood vessels that leak fluid or bleeding; this causes blood clotting which seals off those leaking areas in your eye.

After your laser surgery, you should be able to return home on the same day. In order to facilitate healing and recovery, direct sunlight should be avoided for several days afterward and over-the-counter pain medications may help ease any soreness you experience in your eye.

Implantable Miniature Telescope (IMT)

AMD can significantly diminish quality of life. Unfortunately, AMD is incurable; however, new technologies are helping patients achieve improved functional vision. A minimally invasive surgical treatment known as an implantable miniature telescope (IMT) may be used to restore lost visual acuity in Late-Stage AMD; when placed in one eye it acts like an intraocular magnifying system allowing patients to see objects both near and distant as well as during movement.

IMT is a Medicare-eligible and FDA approved surgical device which has been shown to improve functional vision in End-stage AMD patients in clinical studies. It utilizes wide-angle micro-optics that form a telephoto system which magnifies images 2.7 times from within the field of view of its patient to undamaged sections of retina. Since only one eye needs implanting with IMT, both eyes continue to function normally for ambulation and peripheral vision purposes.

Two-year results from a clinical trial reviewed by the FDA showed that 67% of implanted eyes achieved three-line improvements in best corrected distance visual acuity on an eye chart versus only 13% among fellow control eyes. Patients reported higher quality of life through improved scores on the National Eye Institute Visual Functioning Survey 25-Item Questionnaire.

Recent research published in Clinical Ophthalmology found that most IMT patients had maintained their improvements in visual acuity five years post surgery, as well as showing lower rates of decline in endothelial cell density than patients without this device at two and five years post-surgery.

Individuals considering IMT must have low risks of additional vision-impairing complications from surgery and be committed to participating in an extensive visual rehabilitation program with their doctor, low-vision optometrist and occupational therapist. As it is a surgical device, the IMT may carry with it risks such as inflammation deposits or precipitates accumulating within the eyeball, increased intraocular pressure or damage to other structures within it – however these are risks inherent within surgery in general and IMT specifically may come with its own set of risks should it not go smoothly.

Other Treatments

Researchers from UC have discovered that taking certain antioxidant vitamins and minerals, eating fruits, vegetables and nuts as well as receiving regular eye exams reduces the risk of advanced AMD and vision loss. Furthermore, eye doctors can prescribe medications to slow its progression; eye doctors can also help patients slow wet macular degeneration which occurs when abnormal blood vessels grow under the retina, damaging photoreceptor cells within macula. If left untreated it can quickly lead to rapid vision loss – even legal blindness may result.

AMD comes in two forms – wet and dry. Dry AMD occurs when parts of your macula thin with age and tiny protein deposits known as drusen start to form. This causes central vision loss over time, making it hard to read, drive safely or recognize faces or colors – not painful but gradually getting worse over time. On the other hand, Wet AMD is less commonly found but more serious; new, abnormal blood vessels grow under your retina that leak fluid causing scarring to your macula and loss faster than dry AMD.

Wet AMD can be extremely dangerous and you should reach out immediately if there is an unexpected change to your central vision. Untreated, wet AMD can rapidly progress, eventually leading to total blindness within days if left untreated. Luckily, treatments exist that stop new blood vessels from growing while helping prevent leakage; these drugs can be administered using an extremely thin needle inserted directly into the eyeball; alternatively we can perform laser surgery which utilizes light energy to destroy fragile or leaky blood vessels using laser light technology.

Experimental therapies such as stem cell and gene therapy could also have the ability to slow or even stop progression of wet AMD; however, their safety and effectiveness for treating neovascular AMD still requires further investigation.