Age Related Macular Degeneration

Quick Facts: AGE-RELATED MACULAR DEGENERATION (AMD)

 

Early symptoms: NO SYMPTOMS

Later symptoms: CENTRAL VISION BECOMES AFFECTING ABILITY TO SEE THINGS CLEARLY

Risk factors: AGE OVER 50, SMOKERS, HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE. DIET HIGH IN FAT, BEING OVERWEIGHT, FAMILY HISTORY OF AMD

Did you know?

AMD is a leading cause of severe visual impairment around the world, accounting for 8.7% of all blindness worldwide. In Singapore, it ranks among the top four causes of blindness.

  1. Late stage AMD can happen in one eye or both eyes.
  2. If you have late AMD in only one eye, you may not notice any changes in your vision — but it’s still important to get your eyes checked.
  3. Having late AMD in one eye puts you at higher risk of developing late AMD in your other eye.
  4. Smoking is an important risk factor for developing AMD and can worsen the condition.

What is AMD?

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is an eye condition that can cause loss of  your central vision. Fine details become blur, whether you are looking at something close or far. But your peripheral (side) vision will still be normal. For example, looking at a clock with hands. With AMD, you might see the clock’s numbers but not the hands.. “Age-related” means that it often happens in older people. “Macular” means it affects a part of your eye called the macula.

AMD is  a leading cause of vision loss for people age 50 and older. AMD doesn’t cause complete blindness, but losing your central vision affects your daily activities and quality of life. It can make it harder to see faces, drive, or do close-up work like cooking or fixing things around the house.

AMD can be a very slowly progressing condition in some. So, if you have early AMD, you may not experience vision loss for a long time. For others, AMD progresses faster and can lead to central vision loss in one eye or both eyes

What are the symptoms of AMD?

You may experience:

  • Blurring near the center of your vision
  • Later, this blurry central patch may become bigger
  • For some, you may experience seeing blank spots in your central vision
  • Vision may seem less bright
  • Wavy vision especially when looking at straight lines

What are the types of AMD?

Broadly speaking there are 2 types of AMD

Dry AMD

 

    1. About 80% (8 out of 10) people with AMD will have this form.
    2. Tiny yellow specks of protein called drusen can be seen the retina
    3. The most sensitive part of your retina called the macular will also begin thinner
    4. Central may be affected, but occurs over a long period of time

    See this video for more details

Wet AMD

 

  1. Less common than Dry AMD but more serious
  2. New abnormal blood vessels grow in the deeper layers of the retina
  3. Leakage of blood and protein from the abnormal blood vessels cause scarring in the most sensitive part of the retina called the macular

See this video for more details

Risk factors for AMD

  • Diet: high in saturated fat such as meat, butter, cheese and other fatty foods
  • Smoking
  • Age over 50
  • High blood pressure
  • Family history of AMD
  • Being overweight
  • High cholesterol
  • History of heart disease

How do we diagnose AMD?

  • Ampler chart (picture above): this is a chart your doctor may give you to test your vision yourself at home. If you notice your vision when looking at the squares on lines becoming wavy like in picture on the right (picture B), this may be the first sign of AMD.
  • Dilated eye examination by Eye Specialist: to examine the retina and macular for signs of AMD
  • Optical Coherence Tomography is a special infrared scan that does not require x-ray to obtain detailed images of the different layers of the retina and macular looking for swelling and blood in the retina.
  • Fundal Fluorescein Angiography allows us to examine the blood vessels in the retina for leakage. This involves using a yellow dye introduced through a vein in the arm and taking photos as the dye travels through the blood vessels in the retina.

Treatment for AMD

Dry AMD

If you have lots of drusen (yellow deposits on the retina) or serious vision loss from AMD, a large study has found that taking these vitamins and minerals daily may help:

  • Vitamin C
  • Vitamin E
  • Lutein
  • Zeaxanthin
  • Zinc
  • Copper

This exists as a multivitamin formulation so you do not need to take separate capsules of each vitamin.

Wet AMD

To treat your wet AMD, a medication called anti-VEGF which targets the abnormal blood vessels in your retina can be delivered into your eye directly.

Laser treatment may also be used to treat one types of wet AMD. This involves applying a focused laser beam on the abnormal blood vessels. This can be done in the clinic without going to the operating room and does not cause any pain.

https://www.nei.nih.gov/learn-about-eye-health/eye-conditions-and-diseases/age-related-macular-degeneration

https://www.aao.org/eye-health/diseases/amd-treatment

The symptoms and possible related eye conditions/diseases in this section are for general reference only, and do not contain all visual symptoms or all possible related conditions or diseases. If you have any unusual vision symptoms, speak with your ophthalmologist.

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