Macular degeneration is an age related disease of the eye, it is usually associated with the aging process, and commonly affects people in the over 60’s age group. It is therefore often referred to as (AMD) or age-related macular degeneration.

AMD describes a number of eye conditions which affect the part of the retina known as the macular, and directly affects the central vision rather than the peripheral vision of the sufferer.

What is the Macular Degeneration?

The retina is the interior part of the eye consisting of the lens and optical nerves which receive the incoming light from any object looked at, and the light signals are transmitted to the brain for interpretation. Any deterioration of the retina is referred to as Macular Degeneration.

n  The macular which is the central point of the retina is associated with colour  and detailed vision.

n  It is responsible for our ability to see things close up, like reading or facial recognition.

n  This highly specialized part of the retina works along with the nervous system to translate the incoming light stimulus, via the photoreceptors which ensure that the light signals are correctly interpreted, and transmitted to the brain for visual sense recognition.

n  It is the macular which gives the human, normal, or 20/20 visio,n and enables animal predators to seek out their prey from extraordinary distances.

AMD or age-related macular degeneration is the leading cause of blindness in the over 50’s in the USA, and since the average life expectancy is increasing AMD is now becoming a major health concern with a projected number of people being affected by the disease as high as 3 million by the year 2020.

Two Main Types of AMD.

Atrophic or Dry Macular Degeneration. This is caused by the slow break down of macular cells leading to a slow blurring of normal vision, with yellow-white spots appearing at the back of the eye called Drusen. These are readily identifiable by an eye doctor by using an ophthalmoscope.

Whilst the spots can be seen in middle age, the condition, which is symptomatic of macular degeneration, is more common in the aged person.

Neovascular or Wet Form of Macular Degeneration. In this form of degeneration abnormal blood vessels intrude under the eye retina, they leak blood and can scar the retina cause distortion in central or frontal vision of the sufferer.

The visual distortion becomes noticeable in one eye only first of all, but soon begins to affect the other eye.

The wet form of macular degeneration is less common than the dry form, but can still account for a high incidence of loss of vision.

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