A R M D : AGE RELATED MACULAR DEGENERATION
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of blindness among adults. Although the specific causes of AMD remain unknown, these include a combination of intrinsic (i genetic predisposition) and extrinsic ( environmental insult such as toxic and/or photooxidative damage) factors that have their primary impact on the Retinal pigment epithelium
Risk factors
The risk increases with aging. Other risk factors include:
Smoking.
Obesity. Research studies suggest a link between obesity and the progression of
early and
intermediate stage AMD to advanced AMD.
Race. Whites are much more likely to lose vision from AMD than African
Americans.
Family history. People with a family history of AMD are at higher risk of
getting the disease.
Gender. Women appear to be at greater risk than men.
There are two main
types of AMD:- Dry and Wet
Dry AMD occurs when the light-sensitive cells in the macula slowly break down,
gradually blurring
central vision in the affected eye. Dry AMD generally affects both eyes, but
vision can be lost in one
eye while the other eye seems unaffected.
The most common symptom of dry AMD is slightly blurred vision like difficulty in
recognizing faces,
more light for reading and other tasks.
The most common early signs of dry AMD is drusen. Drusen are yellow deposits
under the retina.
Dry AMD has three stages, all of which may occur in one or both eyes:
Early AMD:- People with early AMD have either
several small drusen or a few medium-sized
drusen. At this stage, there are no symptoms and no vision loss.
Intermediate AMD:- People with intermediate AMD have either many
medium-sized drusen or one
or more large drusen. Some people see a blurred spot in the center of their
vision. More light may
be needed for reading and other tasks.
Advanced Dry AMD:- People with advanced dry AMD
have a breakdown of light-sensitive cells and
supporting tissue in the central retinal area. This breakdown can cause a
blurred spot in the center
of your vision. Over time, the blurred spot may get bigger and darker, taking
more of your central
vision. You may have difficulty reading or recognizing faces until they are very
close to you.
The dry form can advance and cause vision loss without turning into the wet
form. The dry form
also can suddenly turn into the wet form, even during early stage AMD. There is
no way to tell if or
when the dry form will turn into the wet form.
Wet AMD occurs when abnormal blood vessels behind
the retina start to grow under the macula.
These new blood vessels tend to be very fragile and often leak blood and fluid.
The blood and fluid
raise the macula from its normal place at the back of the eye. Damage to the
macula occurs
rapidly.
With wet AMD, loss of central vision can occur quickly. Wet AMD is considered to
be advanced AMD
and is more severe than the dry form.
An early symptom of wet AMD is that straight lines appear wavy. If you notice
this condition or
other changes to your vision, contact your eye care professional at once. You
need a
comprehensive dilated eye examination
Examinations:
TREATMENTS
Transpupillary Thermotherapy
Feeder-Vessel Laser
Anti-inflammatory Therapy
Broad-Acting Antiangiogenic Drugs:-Antiangiogenic Steroids
Targeted Molecular Therapy:RhuFab (Lucentis),Macugen (Eyetech 001),Avastin
Gene Therapy
Surgical Trials:-Surgical Extraction of CNV or Blood,Macular Translocation