Macular Degeneration?
You might look at it this way. Did you ever go outside and take a magnifying glass and burn a piece of paper, or wood, or leaf, or do the boyscout start the fire thing with the lens? In doing so, you take a few square inches of light from the sun and focus it to a point. There's so much energy there that heat is produced...causes a fire. You have in each eye a lens system that focuses light directly on the back of your eye, right in the middle (macula). And you're surprised that after 40 years you've cooked the thing! Why didn't you cook it when you were younger? Well, you did, but the circulation around the macular region, especially beneath it, in the choroid, acts as a cooling radiator like membrane. It also removes the little toxic molecules or super-oxides, or oxygen radicals or ?. And when you are young, that circulation is so good, no damage occurs. But as we get a little older, we get rusty pipes. The circulation slows or becomes less efficient. So anything that might contribute to cardiovascular disease will make macular disease progress faster, or be associated with it...such as smoking. Your tendency for vascular disease and macular disease also has a genetic component. Nutrition may also play a role in providing molecules that prevent oxidative damage or move the toxins away faster by binding them one way or another. Drusen are a sign of this damage. Taking the omega-3 substance helps with heart disease, AMD too. Kale helps too. Some pills work too. (vitamin E, C, Beta Carotene, Zinc/copper). It doesn't blind people as in total blind. It makes it hard to see detail, read, be able to drive, recognize faces. No one goes black blind from this. You should be able to hold off for a long time the worsening of this process with the supplements mentioned. Dark glasses also help. The brown/polarized ones seem the most comfortable and provide a lot of protection. With this basic idea of AMD now read the long one. It'll make more sense.
Why are there multi-colored images associated with macular degeneration?
My wife has wet macular degeneration and receives regular shots of Lucentis. Lately she reports seeing "flowers" of various colors in her field of vision even though there are none there. Are the "flowers" a result of the disease or a result of the shots?
Has anyone had Avastin injections for macular degeneration?
Hi. I just stumbled upon this question with my main account and noticed I had reached my limit of answers for one day and saw that if I waited until tommorow, your question would no longer be available for answering! To give you some background on why I would be eager to answer your question, I work as an RN for five leading retinal surgeons in my state and we currently have the most updated treatments for macular degeneration. Our best and most commonly used treatment is Avastin. With AMD (macular d) you have these abnormal vessels growing in the macular region of the retina. What the Avastin does is removes and helps prevent these vessels from growing and leaking blood and fluid which causes the central vision to darken and distortion around the darkened area. Avastin was initially created for colon cancer as it had similar vascular problems. Avastin is almost never completely successful the first injection. On average a patient will need an injection every two months and I have seen some patients whose abnormal vessels stop growing and breaking for good after two treatments and we have some patients are currently on their 13th injection. The point is those abnormal vessels are stubborn and basically you stop injecting them when they stop growing. Avastin is currently though the ONLY medication on the market that can actually improve their vision, which is a remarkable thing considering the first treatment for macular degeneration was made only ten years ago (called photodynamic therapy) and that treatment can only slow the disease down and hardly ever improve the vision. With Avastin, we can inject a patient and a month later they can read four-five lines better on the eye chart. I will swear by the stuff! We also have a treatment called Lucentis, but it's exactly like Avastin only you must be injected more often thereby increasing your risk of endopthalmitis (very bad eye infection which results in blindness). So if you or someone you know is getting or has received an Avastin injection, they are in the best hands possible!!! Trust me I see miracles with that drug.
What is the best replacement for the macular degeneration injection?
What is the best replacement for the macular degeneration injection?Replacement, you mean alternative?Currently there's no alternative to the intravitreal anti-VEGF injections when dealing with neovascular AMD.Future? Difficult to predict, but gene therapy sounds promising. Then, instead of monthly (or so) injections, a single injection of a vector carrying gene for some anti-VEGF protein should be sufficient. Probably it will have a cone-specific promoter, for safety, because it will limit the expression of the gene to the macula.Meanwhile keep your appointments for injections. Adhere to the protocol religiously, don't skip appointments, don't get tired of it. Chances are that you will be able to keep reasonable vision for at least few years. And then, who knows, maybe we will have something to stop or prevent the progression of the disease to geographic atrophy.
Macular degeneration?
There is no cure or treatment for dry age-related macular degeneration (dry AMD) at this time. You may not have significant problems with your vision for many years. Vision loss happens very slowly and is usually not severe. It often affects only one eye, and you may be able to adjust for the vision loss with the unaffected eye. If you have dry AMD, follow your doctor's recommendations for having regular exams and monitoring the condition at home (such as using an Amsler grid), because dry AMD may sometimes develop into wet AMD. In a few cases, wet age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD), which is the more serious form of the disease, can be treated with thermal laser photocoagulation surgery or photodynamic therapy (PDT). Treatment cannot cure AMD, but it can stop its progression. Other types of surgery and treatments using radiation or medicines are being investigated, but these are considered experimental and are not part of standard treatment. Not all cases of wet AMD can be treated. Only about 10% to 15% of cases can be effectively treated with laser photocoagulation surgery, and only about 20% to 30% of cases can be treated with PDT.Treatment cannot restore vision, but it can sometimes slow down or delay further damage to your central vision. However, in most cases growth of fragile new blood vessels in wet AMD recurs, and even repeated treatment is not usually effective over the long term in preventing some loss of central vision. Because wet AMD often causes rapid and severe loss of central vision, it is important not to delay treatment if your doctor recommends it.
About Macular Degeneration~?
Macular degeneration is a disease that causes progressive damage to the macula. Macula is the central part of the retina that allows us to see fine details. When the macula degenerates, people experience blurring or darkness in the center of their vision and tasks such as reading and driving are affected. The words on a page may look blurred, a dark or empty area may appear in the center of vision, or straight lines may look distorted. The only environmental exposure clearly associated with macular degeneration is tobacco smoking. Advancing age and positive family history of macular degeneration are other risk factors. Macular degeneration cannot be cured with currently available treatments. The vision loss from macular degeneration can be slowed. High dose vitamins can help. Eating more green leafy vegetables, aerobic exercises, eating more fish and less red meat, eating any type of nuts can be of benefit in macular degeneration. Recently lucentis - a drug for wet macular degeneration has been approved by the FDA.
What is MACULAR DEGENERATION?
macular degeneration (AMD) is an aging disease. AMD occurs with degeneration of the macula, which is the part of the retina responsible for the sharp, central vision needed to read or drive. Because the macula primarily is affected in AMD, central vision loss may occur. It is also a growing cause of blindness today. It usually occurs in the elderly (50 and above) rather than the young. There is no cure for it so prevention is essential. Thus there are quite a variety of anti-oxidant formulas specifically for the eye in the market. They usually contain lutein, zinc and vit A, C and E. Its recommended to start taking them while still young so as to slow down this degenerating process
The disease macular degeneration is characterized by a gradual loss of vision as a result of degeneration of?
Specifically, color vision, since the cones are concentrated in this area. Because this area has such a high number of cones, there a total loss of vision in the center of the visual field.