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Macular degeneration is a disease of the eyes that occurs more often in senior citizens and this demographic is at a greater risk for contracting this disease. It is so called because it occurs with degeneration of the macula, which is a part of the retina of the eye. Doctors are seeing more cases of this type of eye disease because of the higher number of senior citizens.

There are two types of macular degeneration (AMD). Dry, which is also known non-neo vascular and wet, also known as neo vascular. Wet refers to the growth of new blood vessels in the macula, where they are not suppose to be. The dry form is much more common and affects about 85 to 90% of all AMD patients. While both forms are not good to have, the wet form is much worse than the dry. Dry AMD is usually an early stage of the disease and can result from the macular tissues getting older and thinning out.

Dry AMD causes loss of vision in the central part of the eye. Sometimes dry AMD can progress on to wet AMD. Wet AMD is when blood vessels grow underneath the retina and then leak fluid and blood. This leakage will cause permanent damage to the cells of the retina. This damage is severe and causes the cells to die, which creates blind spots in the central vision. The growth of the blood vessels is the body’s misguided attempt to try and correct a problem that it knows is happening. Unfortunately, this just makes things even worse for the health of the eyes and is what causes AMD to really do its damage.

Macular degeneration is usually a slow and painless process, which results in loss of vision. The early signs of AMD will include shady areas in the central vision or fuzzy and distorted vision. Doctors link this type of eye disease with the aging process. There have also been studies done which have shown that a type of gene, known as complement factor H, is associated with about 50% of all potentially blinding cases of AMD. Of the two types of AMD, wet and dry, the wet is the worst. There are many different causes, and doctors and scientists do not have all of the answers yet. Hopefully, they will have them one day. Aside from the aging population getting AMD, Caucasians, females and people with a family history of macula degeneration are the primary groups that contract this disease. As of yet there is no cure for this disease but there are some treatments that can delay its progression or even improve vision.

If you suspect you or a loved one has contracted macular degeneration, then you must see a vision doctor immediately. It is crucial to begin treatment for AMD as soon as you know that you have it. It will progress until more and more of the vision is destroyed. AMD has no known cure as of yet but treatments can go a long way to helping someone keep their sight for as long as possible.