Wet & Dry Macular Degeneration

According to the American Macular Degeneration Foundation, macular degeneration is the leading cause of blindness in the United States in people 55 and older. In 1997 Dr. Carl Kupfer, who was the director of the National Eye Institute, warned that macular degeneration was poised to become an epidemic as baby boomers reached retirement age.

Types of Macular Degeneration

• There are two types of macular degeneration. 85 percent to 90 percent of all cases of macular degeneration are the dry type. In dry macular degeneration there is no blood or serum leakage. The macula, which is the central part of the retina, becomes thin and dries out because a yellow deposit called drusen forms under it.

  The American Macular Degeneration Foundation explains that the remaining 10 to 15 percent of macular degeneration cases are the wet kind. In this type, blood vessels grow under the macula. These vessels bleed and fluid leaks under the macula, which causes it to lift up.

Identification and Diagnosis

• According to the Mayo Clinic, macular degeneration can be diagnosed by a doctor who looks for yellow spots of drusen in the macula. He will also check whether or not the coloring of the macula is a solid reddish color or whether the coloring is splotchy and uneven. This can be a symptom of macular degeneration.

  There are a number of tests that can help the doctor to diagnose macular degeneration and identify whether it is wet or dry. A genetic test is available that can identify genetic mutations specific to macular generation. Another option is the Amsler grid test, which uses a printed grid that contains straight lines. If the patient sees the lines as broken or skewed, the doctor can confirm macular degeneration in a patient. Finally, optical coherence tomography (OCT) uses ultrasound technology to check the layers inside the eye.

Prognosis

• Dr. Randall V. Wong, M.D., a retinal specialist and webmaster for the Retina Eye Doctor website, indicates that patients with dry macular degeneration may lose central vision but they do not lose their peripheral vision, so the loss of sight is usually moderate. The patient can have difficulty seeing at night or reading in low light. People with wet macular degeneration, however, can lose their vision rapidly over a period of weeks or months. Blindness occurs more frequently in people who have wet macular degeneration.

Treatment

• The Eye Digest indicates that several FDA approved drugs are used in treatment. Lucentis has had positive results in improving vision in clinical trials, and Macugen is designed to slow the growth of abnormal blood vessels behind the macula in patients with wet macular degeneration.

Prevention/Solution

• The Mayo Clinic recommends taking antioxidant and zinc supplements to help reduce possible vision loss. They also suggest eating foods that are rich in A, C and E vitamins, especially leafy green vegetables. Omega-3 fatty acids can help reduce the risk of macular degeneration. In addition, nonsmokers are less likely to develop this disease than smokers.