Focus on Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD)

In the United States, about 11 million individuals currently have some form of AMD.

Since the population is aging, about 22 million people in the United States will develop

AMD by the year 2050.  Worldwide these numbers are of course far greater.  Anyone experiencing vision loss should immediately see a Board-Certified Ophthalmologist or other licensed health professional for evaluation. 

The commonly called " Wet " variety of AMD is different than the " Dry " type.

However, a single patient may have both types, and one type can transform into

the other type over time.  In general, the " Dry " type is much more common than the " Wet " type.  The difference in these two types depends upon, among other things, growth of blood vessels in the retina.  Regardless of the type of AMD the disease invariably produces irreversible damage to the parts of the retina which sustain its light receptor cells, in time severely compromising vision.

Recently, effective treatments have been approved  by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the " Wet " variety of AMD.  However, there are no FDA-approved treatments for the "Dry" form of AMD.  A treatment was recently approved for Geographic Atrophy, a severe retinal disease closely related to AMD.

All of the approved treatments for " Wet " AMD involve injections into the eye or implantation of a device inside the eye which slowly releases a therapeutic drug, in both cases performed by an Ophthalmologist.

Clinical studies have demonstrated that antioxidant nutritional supplements do help prevent AMD, along with a healthy diet and lifestyle.