Macular Degeneration

Age-related macular degeneration (ARMD) is among the leading causes of blindness in the developed world and is divided into two main classifications, wet and dry. In both conditions, the eye starts to accumulate little yellow collections underneath the retina known as drusen. Sometimes these drusen will become numerous and coalesce together causing focal blind spots in the overlying retina. This is the hallmark of the dry form of ARMD. Wet ARMD patients get drusen formation and then develop new blood vessels into the overlying retina which leads to fluid accumulation underneath the retina. These blood vessels normally respond to injections of medicine into the eye in what is called an intravitreal injection. Many different medications are used for this purpose and the type of medicine needed will be tailored to each individual patient. Everyone with a known family history of macular degeneration should be screened for the disease as its known to be highly genetic. Some patients benefit from a special multivitamin aimed specificially at retinal nutrients.