What Are The Various Types Of Macular Degeneration?
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.
AMD, which is also known as macular degeneration, is a disease of the eye that can affect anyone regardless of age. However, it does seem to affect the aging, Caucasians, females and people with a family history of the disease. AMD has a dry form and a wet form, with the wet being much worse. The dry form of AMD is much more common and this is a good thing, considering the wet form is much worse. There is no known cure for AMD but doctors are at least able to treat it and get it under control.
AMD affects more people that are aging than any other demographic group in the world. While there is no known cure for macular degeneration as of yet, there are ways that doctors can help alleviate the symptoms. It is important to see a doctor if you suspect that you are having symptoms of AMD. This is the best way that you can keep your vision for as long as you can.
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