Macular degeneration, also known as age-related macular degeneration or AMD, is a retinal eye disease. With macular degeneration, damage to the eye’s macula (the central part of the retina) causes a loss of central vision (what you see looking straight ahead). At the same time, your peripheral vision (what you see on the edges of your visual field) usually remains more normal.
Macular degeneration is the leading cause of vision loss in older adults. No cure currently exists, but prevention options may keep macular degeneration from developing. And treatment may slow its progression.
In this article, we’ll discuss how macular degeneration happens, who is most at risk for getting it, and its symptoms. Then we’ll clue you into some macular degeneration prevention and treatment options an eye doctor might recommend.
What Causes Macular Degeneration?
Macular degeneration is caused by the macula becoming damaged. But before we get into how macular damage happens, let’s talk about what the macula does.
The macula is the central part of your eye’s retina. Along with the rest of the retina, the macula sits at the back of the eye and converts the light entering your eye into images your brain understands. (This is how you “see” those images.)
The macula is responsible for what you see straight in front of you (your central vision), and most of your color vision. The macula also helps you see fine details.
Anything that damages the macula can affect your central vision—and even small changes can have an impact. Depending on how severe the macular damage is, macular degeneration could have a profound impact on daily life, significantly impairing functions like recognizing faces, reading, driving, and even getting around. But usually, macular degeneration does not cause total blindness.
Wet vs. Dry Macular Degeneration
Two main types of macular degeneration exist: the dry form and the wet form. With each type, different circumstances damage the macula, leading to macular degeneration.
Dry Macular Degeneration
Dry macular degeneration (dry AMD) is the most common form, affecting 80% of people with macular degeneration.
With dry AMD, the macula gets thinner and protein clumps (called drusen) develop, damaging the macula. Dry AMD tends to occur gradually and painlessly. Often, macular damage isn’t noticed until it has progressed enough for the vision loss to become obvious.
Wet Macular Degeneration
Wet macular degeneration (wet AMD) is less common than dry AMD.
Also called advanced neovascular AMD, wet AMD is when new blood vessels or abnormal blood vessels develop at the back of the eye and leak blood or fluid, which damages the macula. Wet AMD can occur suddenly and tends to cause more significant vision loss. Sometimes, wet AMD can develop from dry AMD.
Macular Degeneration: Risk Factors
Macular degeneration is also known as age-related macular degeneration because age is a significant risk factor in developing AMD. That is, the chance of getting macular degeneration increases with age. But other risk factors may come into play, too.
You’re more likely to get macular degeneration if you:
- Are over age 50
- Are of caucasian descent
- Have high blood pressure (hypertension)
- Have high cholesterol
- Smoke
- Are overweight
- Eat foods containing high amounts of saturated fat
- Have heart disease
- Have a family history of macular degeneration
Excessive sun exposure may also be a risk factor, though a definitive link hasn’t been found.
Macular Degeneration Symptoms
How do you know you have or are developing macular degeneration? Because macular degeneration (especially the dry form) can occur slowly over time, you might not notice early symptoms or any symptoms until the disease has progressed. In fact, in AMD’s early stages, the first signs are often detected by an optometrist or ophthalmologist at your comprehensive eye exam.
Let’s take a look at some common macular degeneration symptoms. If you’re experiencing any of these symptoms, see your eye doctor right away:
- Blurred vision
- Difficulty discerning details
- Blind spots or dark areas in your central vision
- Problems seeing or recognizing people’s faces
- Visual distortion, such as seeing wavy lines that should be straight lines
Macular Degeneration Treatment and Prevention
Your doctor may suggest one or more of these actions you can take to try to slow progression once it’s been diagnosed:
- Medication: Your doctor may prescribe medication, which could be delivered through injection into the eye, to slow the progression of wet macular degeneration, or to limit the damage it causes. Medicated eye drops to treat AMD are currently being researched.
- Laser surgery: For wet AMD, a type of laser surgery called photodynamic therapy may reduce the number of abnormal blood vessels and stem leakage.
- Nutrient-rich diet: Your doctor might suggest a balanced, nutritious diet of foods thought to be good for eye health. These might include foods like fish, yellow vegetables and fruit, and dark green leafy vegetables.
- Vitamin supplements and antioxidants: Some vitamins may help slow further advancement of dry AMD. These include copper, lutein, vitamins C and E, zeaxanthin, and zinc—specific ocular vitamins based on the Age Related Eye Disease (AREDS/AREDS II) study.
- Lifestyle changes: Quitting smoking (or not starting), controlling your blood pressure and cholesterol, and leading a healthy, active lifestyle may help prevent macular degeneration. Your doctor may also suggest reducing sun exposure, which has been suggested as a possible cause. As noted above, a definitive link has not been found.
Other Help for People With Macular Degeneration
Though not a treatment per se, low vision devices and services can help people live with the vision loss caused by macular degeneration. These may include devices to help perform daily functions, such as magnification for reading or special lighting to see better at home.
The Best AMD Prevention? Keep Up With Eye Care
We say this a lot, but early detection is the best way to prevent or manage many eye conditions, including macular degeneration. Be sure to keep up with annual comprehensive eye exams. Doing so will help preserve your vision and your eye health.
