Age related Macular Degeneration is degenerative condition that affects what is referred to as central vision. This occurs due to damage to iris in the area referred to as the macula, the central portion of the iris. It can develop in a dry form and a wet form, the latter being the more serious of the two conditions. In both cases central vision is impaired which can inhibit reading, driving or face recognition. It does leave peripheral vision intact, which can allow for the continuation of activities not requiring the detailed vision an undamaged macula provides.
To understand how the condition works, a basic understanding of the structure of the eye is necessary. The outermost layer of the eye is the cornea, the soft, clear covering over the eye. It might be thought of as an envelope for the rest of the eye. Moving back into the eye is the pigmented portion of the eye, referred to as the iris. The iris surrounds the pupil. The lens resides between the iris and the next major component of the eye, the retina. The retina is the largest piece of the eye and home to macula. The macula is the portion of the retina that handles fine, detail vision. The final piece of the eye is called the choroid, which supplies blood and nutrition to the eye.
The onset of dry, age related macular degeneration begins with the accumulation of deposits of drusen between the choroid and the retina. There is some risk of retinal detachment. Drusen are composed of what is called extracellular material. The exact nature of the deposits is unclear, but may be unprocessed waste products or proteins. Over time, drusen accumulation begins to cause cells in the macula to atrophy or cease to function. Initially, this can cause blurred vision, visual distortions, or the need to use more light to see clearly. Over the long term this can cause significant vision loss, though total blindness is not typical. The loss of vision tends to be gradual with the dry, age related macular degeneration.
Wet, age related macular degeneration is a more serious condition and tends to produce damage at a must faster pace than its dry counterpart. This condition is not caused by drusen, but rather by abnormal growth of blood vessels in the choroid. The new blood vessels are unusually weak and have a tendency to bleed. This bleeding can cause the macula to move and results in damage to the macula. In addition to the movement, wet macular degeneration also causes permanent scarring to retina. This scarring contributes to the loss of central vision.
Dry, age related macular degeneration is the more common form of the condition and comprises the vast majority of cases. Wet macular degeneration is always preceded by dry macular degeneration. It does not form independent of the dry form the condition. Both conditions are suffered predominately by the elderly, though there are other types of the condition that can affect the young.
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