Age-Related Macular Degeneration
What is Age-Related Macular Degeneration ?
Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) is one of the most common causes of vision loss and blindness in Australia. The macula is responsible for our central vision, most of our colour vision and fine near vision. Macular degeneration is a chronic and painless degenerative retinal eye disease whereby it causes central vision loss.
There are two types of AMD:
Dry
In dry AMD small yellow deposits called drusen develop under the macula. These are made up of cholesterol, protein, and fats and typically, when they first form, do not cause severe vision loss. However, they are a risk factor for progressing to vision loss.
Wet
In wet AMD abnormal blood vessels form and tend to break, bleed and leak fluid which causes damage to the macula. This causes the retina to create a protein called VEGF which is made by the retina to protect itself and to create new blood vessels. However, this attempt is futile as those new blood vessels are also abnormal, causing a vicious cycle of abnormal blood vessel growth. This leakage of blood and fluid causes severe and sudden loss of central vision.
Symptoms of Macular Degeneration
- a “darkening” reduction in central vision
- straight lines start to appear wavy or distorted
- the need for brighter lighting
- difficulty adapting to low lights
- general central visual blurriness or haziness
- trouble recognizing faces or reading fine print
- rapidly worsening of the above symptoms
Treatment options for Macular Degeneration
Currently there is no treatment for dry AMD however Anti-VEGF medications are currently the most effective treatment for the more aggressive wet form of AMD. Anti VEGF medications works by blocking the activity of the VEGF protein that the retina tries to produce, thereby stopping the cycle abnormal blood vessel growth and fluid leakage. This treatment is delivered in the form of regular injections to the eye.
