The Eye Shop - Boutique Opticians
ARMD - information video
Age Related Macular Degeneration
Symptoms
Key early symptoms include a blurring of central vision and straight lines appearing distorted, for example door frames and steps. Everyday activities such as driving, watching TV, and even recognising faces can become seriously affected over time.
Normal Vision
Early symptoms of AMD
Advanced symptoms
Causes of AMD
There are 2 types of AMD - a wet form and a dry form. The exact causes are unknown.
The wet form is more severe, but less common, and vision degenerates more rapidly. Abnormal blood vessels grow under the macula which bleed and leak fluid and cause central vision to be distorted or destroyed. This is called 'choroidal neovascularization' (CNV).
The dry form is more common (around 85% of people with AMD have the dry form) but is less severe and vision degenerates over a longer period of time. Dry AMD is caused when deposits called 'Drusen' form at the macular.
Only your eye care professional can tell you which form you may have.
Risk factors
Studies have shown you are at higher risk of AMD:
with increasing ageif you are a smokerif you have a family history of AMD
Other risk factors include: ObesityRace: whites are much more likely to lose vision from AMD than other racesGender: women appear to be at greater risk than menIris colour: people with light coloured irides are at higher risk than those with dark coloured irisesExposure to sunlightHigh cholesterolHigh blood pressurePoor diet: people with a poor dietary intake of lutein and zeaxanthin (macular pigments)Cataracts
Treatment options currently available
Dry AMD
Although several new drugs are being investigated and approved by regulatory agencies around the world for the treatment of the exudative (wet) type of AMD, apart from
• stopping smoking
• a healthy diet of dark green leafy vegetables and fruits
• supplements of zinc and anti-oxidant vitamins (Vitamins E, C, and beta carotene),
very little is currently available to help patients with 'atrophic' or dry AMD to prevent it progressing to more serious stages of the debilitating disease.
There is currently only a limited knowledge of the causes and mechanisms of dry AMD and this is the subject of on-going research. Although more people have the dry form of AMD, more research has been conducted on the wet form. This is because the causes of wet AMD - leaking blood vessels - are more obvious. The slow progression of the dry form makes clinical trials very expensive, as they would have to involve many more patients over a much longer period of time in order to study the progression.
A blood filtration process, called Rheopheresis, is being marketed in Canada as a treatment for dry AMD by OccuLogix Inc.
Taking vitamin supplements is currently the only prevention therapy for dry AMD.
In 2001, the National Institutes of Health/National Eye Institute in the United States released results from the Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) showing that high levels of antioxidants and zinc significantly reduce the risk and symptoms of the condition.
That set the stage for doctors to recommend high doses of vitamins E and C, zinc and beta carotene.
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