We all become more susceptible to vision loss as we age, however not all types of vision loss equally impact how well we see.
Age-related macular degeneration is a type of vision loss that partially or fully impacts the central part of your field of vision. This is the area your eyes see directly in front of you.
In this article we will help you understand more about age-related macular degeneration, common risk factors, symptoms, and how the best eye doctors in Pittsburgh at Chang Eye Group can help.
What Is Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD)?
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is an incurable eye disease that causes vision loss to a patient’s central vision. As it progresses, the disease affects the patient’s ability to see directly in front of them, while their peripheral vision remains unaffected. Although this condition will not cause patients to lose all their vision, it can be severe enough to make reading, working, recognizing faces, enjoying hobbies, and driving difficult or impossible.
This condition occurs when a part of your retina called the macula becomes damaged. The macula sends what you see in your central vision from your optic nerve to your brain, which makes sense of that information and allows you to see it. The damage AMD causes to your macula disrupts this process and blocks your brain’s ability to understand what is in front of you.
There are two main types of AMD:
- Dry AMD – a more common condition that is caused by a thinning macula and the growth of a type of protein called drusen
- Wet AMD – a more serious condition that is caused by blood or other fluids that leak inside the eye and scar the macula
What are the Risk Factors for Developing AMD?
Aging is the primary risk factor for developing AMD. Individuals become more likely to notice symptoms of this eye disease starting in their early 50s, and this likelihood continues to increase over time.
According to the National Eye Institute, approximately 35 percent of people over age 80 will develop AMD. This is a sharp increase from less than 2 percent of individuals experiencing it under age 50.
AMD can also progress to affecting a larger area of vision over time, which means that it is common for patients that develop AMD at a younger age to experience more severe vision loss a few decades down the road than they might if they first noticed symptoms later in life.
Caucasians tend to be more likely to develop AMD than people of other races. Your family history and overall health can also contribute to your likelihood of developing AMD.
While not all AMD cases can be prevented, taking steps to live an overall healthier lifestyle can go a long way toward reducing your risk of experiencing this type of vision loss. This is particularly true if you are only noticing signs of AMD in one eye. Having AMD in one eye increases your likelihood of developing it in the other eye in the future, but being intentional about living a healthier life now can significantly reduce this risk.
Other factors that may increase your risk of developing AMD at any age include:
- Smoking
- Obesity
- High blood pressure or cholesterol
- Diabetes
- Eating an unhealthy diet, especially one that is high in saturated fats and includes too few vegetables
- Getting too little exercise
- Certain types of infections
- A history of head injuries
- A family history of AMD
What are Common Symptoms of AMD?
The stage of your AMD is an important factor in understanding the types of symptoms you are most likely to experience. In most cases, you will not notice any symptoms until your AMD progresses beyond early Dry AMD.
Some common AMD symptoms include:
- Parts of your field of vision that appear dark or empty, especially if they are right in front of you
- Difficulty seeing clearly in low light conditions
- Blurry vision
- Seeing straight lines as curved or wavy
Minor symptoms often indicate that your AMD is at an early or intermediate stage. While these symptoms cannot be reversed, an optometrist may be able to slow their progression or keep them from getting worse.
Advanced AMD may lead to full central vision loss. Wet AMD cases are considered advanced as soon as diagnosed, but your eye doctor may still be able to take steps to preserve your current vision.
What Lifestyle Strategies Help Prevent AMD?
Age-related macular degeneration cannot always be prevented, but your overall health is an important factor in your overall likelihood of developing this eye disease. There are several steps you can take to reduce your likelihood of developing this type of vision loss or keep any symptoms you are experiencing from progressing as quickly as they otherwise might.
Some of the main lifestyle changes that can help keep your eyes healthy include:
- Eating plenty of foods that are rich in vitamins and low in saturated fats
- Taking vitamin supplements, especially if you are unsure of whether your diet is providing enough of certain key nutrients that have the most significant impact on your ocular health
- Getting plenty of exercise
- Wearing sunglasses to protect your retinas
- Not smoking
- Using an Amsler grid to determine whether lines you know are straight appear normal or wavy and seeing an eye doctor as soon as you notice any problems
- Seeing an eye doctor regularly to watch for possible early changes to your vision or the structure of your eyes
- Having a thorough understanding of your family history of this condition, especially if any first-degree relatives have had it, and sharing this information with your eye doctor
What are the Treatment Options for AMD?
While there is no cure for age-related macular degeneration (AMD) at this time, there are several options for slowing its severity once you start noticing symptoms. Treatment options are currently most effective in patients that are at an intermediate stage of AMD progression.
Currently, there are no known medical treatments for early AMD stages, but you also will not experience symptoms until your condition progresses. Only your eye doctor will be able to tell if you have early AMD, and they will usually recommend making certain lifestyle changes while monitoring the progression of your condition over time.
Attempting to treat late stages of Dry AMD are also unlikely to be effective, which means that it is very important to see an eye doctor to evaluate your treatment options before the disease progresses to this stage.
Intermediate AMD can often be controlled if you begin treatment as soon as you notice symptoms. Although these treatments will not cure the disease, they can be quite effective in slowing the progression for many years. Treatment at this stage is often a combination of vitamin or mineral supplements in parallel with key lifestyle changes.
Eye doctors have found that some of the most beneficial supplements for patients with intermediate dry AMD include:
- Vitamin C
- Zinc
- Vitamin E
- Copper
- Lutein
- Zeaxanthin
Wet AMD can often be treated at a later stage more successfully than advanced Dry AMD. While current treatments will not reverse vision loss, they can help to slow or stop further progression of the disease. Late Wet AMD treatment options that your eye doctor may recommend include:
- Anti-VEGF injections, such as aflibercept, ranibizumab, and bevacizumab
- Photodynamic therapy (PDT), which combines using lasers to destroy extra blood vessels with injections of light-sensitive drugs
- Laser photocoagulation, a less-common option that involves using lasers to seal leaking blood vessels
In many cases, your treatment plan will include strategies for adapting to your current vision.
Many patients are able to use their peripheral vision to avoid losing their ability to complete some of their everyday activities if their AMD has not yet progressed enough to cause widespread vision loss. For example, these strategies may include:
- Using a magnifying glass, computer screens or other electronics that offer especially large fonts, and other low vision tools
- Seeing a vision rehabilitation specialist
- Taking an antidepressant or seeing a therapist to help reduce the impact that vision loss can have on your mental health
Dry AMD treatment is generally simple enough to carry very limited risks. However, treatments for patients with Wet AMD may cause severe side effects. Most of these concerns are rare, but it is important to discuss their potential impacts with your ophthalmologist before making a treatment decision. Possible side effects of Wet AMD treatments include:
- Eye infections
- Faster onset or progression of cataracts
- Retinal detachment
- Other types of structural eye damage or vision loss
Chang Eye Group Provides Quality Age-Related Macular Degeneration Care in Pittsburgh
At Chang Eye Group, we are here to help patients in the Pittsburgh area reduce the impact that age-related macular degeneration and other types of vision loss have on their lives. While this condition cannot be cured at this time, there are several options for reducing its progression when we are able to start treatment as soon as you notice that you are experiencing symptoms. Contact us today at one of our convenient Pittsburgh locations to learn more if you are concerned about developing age-related macular degeneration. Call us at (412) 429-2020 to schedule an appointment to meet with one of our eye doctors to discuss your options.
