Macular degeneration is the world's leading cause of irreversible blindness among elderly people. Detecting early macular degeneration can be difficult, since most studies, including the National Eye Institute's Age Related Disease Studies, have looked primarily at macular degeneration that is of medium severity or worse.
The molecule that takes part in the initial step in the vision process, rhodopsin, has two components called 11-cis retinal and opsin. Retinal is a light-sensitive derivative of vitamin A, and opsin is a protein molecule.
Drusen are fatty deposits located under the retina and look like small yellow specks. They are made of cellular debris, minerals including calcium, and lipids. As you age, a few drusen typically form in the eye. A drusen eye problem occurs when a buildup of multiple drusen is present.
Since 2000, the methods of diagnosis and treatment of macular degeneration have exploded. No longer is the disease guaranteed to progress and cause blindness.
About 10,000 people in the United States alone suffer from this condition. It can be a result of a genetic mutation in the eye that causes photoreceptor cells to manufacture the wrong protein for the eye. It is also a progressive form of dry macular degeneration that can be resistant to interventions.
Because floaters are suspended in the thick vitreous humor gel, attempting to shift focus to the floater itself only results in the debris appearing to drift slowly out of the field of vision.
Do you think you know the important facts about macular degeneration? Take the following QUIZ and check your score!
Here for posterity, is Dr. Krawitz's 2009 article explaining the genetics of macular degeneration. We were ahead of our time. Medicare is on the cusp of approving a laboratory test and advising patients with macular degeneration how to alter their formula based on the results.
New treatments and medications are now available for wet macular degeneration. The medications that are used are called Anti-Angiogenesis Drugs , and fall in various classes known an monoclonal antibodies, vascular endothelial growth factor, (VEGF) inhibitors.
Taking the right combination of lutein, vitamins and antioxidants may counter or reverse the effects of Age Related Macular Degeneration (ARMD) and lead to healthier and more productive lives for patients.
If the eye floaters are new, and especially if they are accomplanied by intermittent flashes light in your vision, you must see your eye doctor to make sure that you do not have a retinal detachment. Retinal detachments are painless and can cause permanent vision loss.
Very little research has been performed on the treatment of myopic macular degeneration , and yet many eye doctors recommend that their own patients with this condition take nutritional supplements. Microscopically, this condition most resembles the Central Geographic Atrophy form of age-related macular degeneration.