AGE RELATED MACULAR DEGENERATION (ARMD OR AMD)
As the name implies this is a disease of older people. 90% of patients have the dry form. The other 10% have the wet form.
DRY AMD
The retina like the rest of you starts wearing down with age. Like wrinkles on your skin, the retina starts thinning. There can be yellow calcium deposits called Drusen that form (and it's not from taking too much calcium). There can be generalized atrophy called Geographic Atrophy. The picture on the left shows both. In either case vision loss is very slow and most patients retain decent vision. NO ONE GOES COMPLETELY BLIND FROM AMD. The peripheral vision remains intact. Treatment is aimed at slowing progression. Use of sunglasses to prevent the sun's radiation and antioxidant vitamins that include Zinc, Lutein and Omega-3's can help (AREDS 2 Formula from EVOAHEALTH.com is recommended). In the near future we will be able to inject drugs into the eye that will prevent degeneration and stem cell treatment may reverse it altogether.
WET AMD
With wet AMD or choroidal neovascularization, new abnormal blood vessels start forming in the center of the retina. These blood vessels start to leak fluid and/or blood causing more rapid vision loss. If not treated quickly scars form leading to irreparable damage. Again the peripheral vision remains intact. Treatment currently involves injecting drugs (Avastin, Lucentis or Eylea) into the eye at 4-12 week intervals to stop the blood vessel growth. They essentially act like weed killers. Kill the bad weeds (neovascularization) but keep the grass (healthy native blood vessels) alive. Newer treatments will combine injections with lasers and use sustained delivery devices to limit the amount of injections needed.
