Macular Degeneration, also called age-related macular degeneration AMD for short, is a disease that affects the sight of a person. Macular degeneration is the leading cause of blindness in America. It affects people between sixty five and older, which is a large proportion of Americans today. The macula, an oval shaped pigment near the near the center of the retina, is responsible for the sharp, high-acuity, central vision. Within the macula are the fovea and foveole, high density cones. The AMD affects the macula which causes for central vision to occur. Already 1.75 million Americans have AMD and is expected to increase to 3 million in the year 2020. There are two forms of macular degeneration, dry …show more content…
There are no FDA approved medical treatments but there are small amounts of clinical trials. The two main clinical trials are the Age-Related Eye Disease Study, AREDS, and a AREDS 52 have shown that nutritional supplements that have antioxidant vitamins and multivitamins, that contain lutein and zeaxanthin, help reduce the process of wet AMD occurring during dry AMD. Sadly none of these treatments have been beneficial towards prevention of dry AMD. So far the only considerable treatment from developing dry AMD is to exercise, maintain a healthy diet, wear sunglasses, and stay clear of HEV …show more content…
When someone develops wet macular degeneration new blood vessels start to grow behind the retinas, which causes leakage of blood and fluids in the eye. This is where the wet and dry are determined. The leakage of all of the fluids in the eye causes permanent damage to the light-sensitive retinal cells, which die off and creates blindspots. In wet AMD, choroidal neovascularization, an abnormal growth of blood vessels, is to blaim. When choroidal neovascularization occurs it tries to supply the eye with more oxygen and nutrients. Unfortunately it causes scarring of the retinas. Wet macular degeneration is divided into two categories, occult and classic. Occult is when new blood vessels that start to form they are not as pronounce and cause little leakage, and is know as occult CNV. Classic is when the new blood vessels begin to start tearing and scraping the wall of the retina, which causes more severe vision