What causes macular degeneration?
Where is the macula?
The macula is located in the center of the retina, light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye. The retina instantly converts light, or an image, into electrical impulses. The retina then sends these impulses, or signals nerve to the brain.
Macular degeneration is the leading cause of vision loss in the elderly. This disease involves the macula, the part of the retina that provides central vision acuity and necessary for tasks such as sewing, driving, reading, etc. There are two forms of macular degeneration.They are "dry" form and "wet" or neovascular form.
In the dry form, the layer of macular cells that convert sunlight into finer sense and some cells break. Usually discovered by the difficulty with reading. If one eye is affected, it is likely that others will be affected to some extent. This form of related macular degeneration rarely causes total loss of reading vision.
With the wet form or neovascular, new blood vessels grow under the macula and leak fluid causes nearby cells to die. This causes significant difficulty in vision. You may have blank spots in the field vision or straight lines appear wavy. If this continues without treatment, the tissue can die within weeks or months. Once this damage occurs, can not be repaired.
In some cases, AMD advances so slowly that people notice little change in your vision. In other cases, the disease progresses rapidly and can lead to loss of vision in both eyes. AMD is a leading cause of vision loss in Americans 60 years of age and older.
AMD occurs in two forms: dry and wet.
Dry (atrophic) form: This type of gradual decomposition of the cells of the macula, resulting in a progressive blurring of central vision. Multiple, small, round patches of yellow-white color, called drusen are key identifiers for the type dry. The spots are on the back of the eye at the level of the outer retina and are detected by examining the retina with an ophthalmoscope.
Wet (exudative or neovascular) form: In the wet form, newly created abnormal blood vessels grow under the center of the retina. These blood vessels leak, bleed, and scar of the retina, distorting vision or destroying central vision. distortion of vision usually begins in one eye and can affect the other eye later.
People with macular degeneration may first notice a blurring of central vision that is most apparent when performing visually detailed tasks, as reading and sewing. Blurred central vision can also direct lines appear slightly distorted or deformed. As the disease progresses, form blind spots in central vision.
Related macular degeneration with age may be influenced by a combination of environmental factors and genetic.
The patient with wet macular degeneration develop new blood vessels under the retina. This causes bleeding, swelling and tissue scar, but can be treated with laser in some cases.
Dry Macular Degeneration, although more common, usually results in a less serious, more gradual loss of vision.
IOL-VIP – Intraocular Lens for Visually Impaired Pe