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Macular Degeneration (Age-Related) |
Macular Degeneration (Age-Related) |
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| What is Macular Degeneration ? |
| Macular degeneration is a disorder that includes a variety of eye diseases that affect your central vision. Central vision is what you see directly in front of you rather than what you see at the edge (or periphery) of your vision. Macular degeneration is caused when part of your retina deteriorates. The retina is the interior layer of your eye. The macula is the central portion of the retina and is responsible for detailed vision.
The most common disease is age-related macular degeneration. Age-related macular degeneration is the leading cause of legal blindness in people older than 55 years in the United States. The disease affects more than 10 million Americans, including 23% of Americans older than 90 years. Because overall life expectancy continues to increase, age-related macular degeneration has become a major public health problem.
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| Causes of Macular Degeneration |
No one knows the causes of age-related macular degeneration. Causes are likely to be genetically inherited. Macular degeneration often runs in families. Many of the following risk factors have been found to be associated with age-related macular degeneration:
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Age
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Race (more common in whites but occurs in all races)
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Smoking
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High blood pressure
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Vascular disease
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High intake of saturated fat and cholesterol
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High blood cholesterol level
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Farsightedness (hyperopia)
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Exposure to sunlight
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| Symptoms of Macular Degeneration |
| Dry AMD sometimes does not cause any symptoms, or it can cause minimal loss of central vision clarity. In a small number of cases, it gradually advances to cause more significant blurring in the center of the field of vision. In these more advanced cases, faces and printed words become hard to recognize.
As a first symptom of wet AMD, straight lines or edges appear crooked and images become blurred. In some cases this is followed by a central blind spot, as in dry AMD. However, unlike in dry AMD, this vision loss usually occurs rapidly.
AMD generally does not affect side vision, even in advanced cases, so patients can function independently. Other people may not perceive any problem with the person who has AMD. People who have AMD appear to see normally but actually may have difficulty recognizing friends. This can lead to social difficulties. About 15 percent of people with vision loss from AMD experience visual hallucinations. That is, they see things, such as people and patterns that are not there.
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| Diagnosis of Macular Degeneration |
| Your doctor will ask questions about your health history and about any risk factors you may have for AMD. He or she then will perform a thorough eye examination, including tests of visual acuity and, in some cases, an Amsler grid test. An Amsler grid is a drawing of vertical and horizontal lines with a dot in the middle. You are asked to stare at the dot. If you have AMD, some of the lines will appear bent or distorted. |
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