Macular Degeneration Causes & Treatment

Macular Degeneration

This condition is the most common cause of poor vision in people over 50 years of age.

It is a degenerative condition affecting the central area of the retina called the macula, which is responsible for our central sight used for reading, watching TV, driving and fine vision tasks (e.g. computer work and craft).

Macular degeneration , also known as age related macular degeneration (AMD) generally occurs in both eyes but it can be more advanced in one eye than the other. In early stages of the disease there is a loss of sharpness or distortion in fine detail. In advanced cases, the eye loses central vision but still sees the objects to the side (peripheral vision).

For this reason, macular degeneration, even in advanced cases does not result in total blindness. However it can make reading, watching TV and recognising peoples faces difficult without the use of special low vision optical aids.

There are two types of AMD; dry or wet.

Dry ARMD is more common and can cause slow progressive vision loss. The wet form is characterised by the development of abnormal blood vessels beneath the retina which may leak fluid or bleed. These develop rapidly and vision can worsen in a matter of days or weeks.

Treatment of Macular Degeneration

The dry form has no effective treatment at present although ceasing smoking and maintaining a healthy well balanced diet may slow the progression. Several studies suggest that there may be a benefit in taking anti-oxidants, supplements (e.g. Macutec, MD Eyes, Macuvision plus), to reduce the risk of progression of ARMD. Your eye doctor can discuss if these supplements are necessary on an individual basis.

The treatment of wet ARMD has improved dramatically in recent years. While previously there was very little that could be done for wet ARMD, recent medical advancements mean very effective treatments are available to prevent loss of sight. The wet form usually requires injections to treat. The thought of eye injections is usually quite frightening for patients. However, with modern anaesthetic, there is minimal discomfort associated with these injections.