What Causes Age-Related Macular Degeneration?

At first, you would think you only need a brighter bulb to read or a new pair of corrective glasses to see objects in fine detail. Straight lines appear distorted or wavy, and things seem blurry. There were easy fixes, but they only helped temporarily. As time goes by, what felt like merely an inconvenience now turned out to be something so much more. You start to have trouble perceiving color brightness, see dark spots on your central vision, or even struggle with recognizing faces. All of these are signs that you may have age-related macular degeneration or AMD. Are you wondering what might be causing this eye disease? Read on to learn more about this common condition.

 

The Thinning of the Macula or Pigment Deposit in the Macula

There are two types of macular degeneration — dry and wet. Dry AMD is the early stage and the more common form of the disease, affecting between 85 and 90 percent of all patients diagnosed with AMD. Experts report that the dry form could have resulted from two different processes. The first is due to aging and thinning of the macula, and the other is pigment deposit in the macular tissues. Dry AMD could occur because of one of these or a combination of both. Your eye doctor will diagnose you with dry AMD if they see drusen accumulate in and around your macular tissues. Drusen are tiny yellowish deposits made of fatty proteins, which are believed to have come from deteriorating tissue. Patients with dry AMD generally experience the gradual loss of their central vision. The visual impairment doesn’t seem to be as severe, though, compared to wet AMD. But the vision problems from the dry form of macular degeneration could progress as years go by. This can result in significant vision loss.

 

The Growth of Abnormal Blood Vessels

The other form of macular degeneration is wet AMD, which is the advanced stage of the disease. It’s less common than dry AMD but more aggressive. Wet AMD is caused by abnormal blood vessels that grow beneath the retina. This leads to blood and fluid leakage, which can cause permanent damage to your photoreceptors. These are light-sensitive cells in your retina, which, when damaged, creates a blind spot in your central visual field. The underlying process that causes this abnormal growth of blood vessels is known as choroidal neovascularization. It’s your body’s misguided attempt to supply more oxygen and nutrients to your retina by creating new networks of blood vessels. Unfortunately, these new growths are prone to breaking, which causes blood or fluid to leak into the macula. The fluid buildup in the back of your eye causes scarring or blistering in the macula. The process leads to severe visual distortions and sometimes severe vision loss.

 

Not everyone diagnosed with AMD develops the wet form or gets it in both eyes. But if you do, it can be challenging to live with severe visual impairment. Are you interested in what optical devices and rehabilitation programs are available for vision loss?

 

Find out more about Age-Related Macular Degeneration, contact Quality Eye Care today in Jacksonville and Gainesville, Florida at (904) 601-1300.