AMD
It is a medical eye condition , which usually affects older people and is characterized by loss of visual acuity in the central part of the visual field due to damage of retinal tissue or macula tissue ( macula lutea ) . It occurs in two forms , as a ' dry ' and ' wet ' form .
It represents one of the major causes of loss in visual acuity ( with cataract ) in the elderly population , over 50 years old. In advanced disease states , reading is difficult and recognizing facial features of people in the environment , which significantly distorts quality of their lives. Periphery vision remains mostly intact, so the movement and other daily activities are possible.
Macula lutea (macula) is the area of the retina , which is crucial for the quality of central vision . In the case of the development of ' dry ' (non exudative form) AMD leads to the accumulation of cellular deposits , that accumulate under the retina and the lifting off of the posterior pole of the eye. A more severe form of AMD , " wet " ( exudative ) is characterized by ingrowth of blood vessels under the retina (or macula lutea) , also leading to its raising . In both cases, a loss in visual acuity , to a lesser or greater extent .
Early changes in the initial AMD as a rule do not affect vision to a significant extent . This fact often does not indicate that the patient has a serious eye problem . With periodic review of ophthalmologists , the disease would have been recognized at the very beginning and its progression could be avoided or slowed down.
Symptoms and signs of AMD:
-cellular deposits
- Displacement of pigment of macula lutea
- Exudative changes, ocular bleeding, the occurrence of hard exudates with crystals, intra-retinal accumulation of fluid
- Decrease of visual acuity
- Blurred vision
- The central visual field defects
- diagnosed by CVF, MILMEDIC possesses such a device
- Metamorphopsions
- sensation the patient to make the lines look distorted or winding
- Disturbance of perception of colors
- Slower recovery of visual function after exposure to bright light
- Decrease or loss of contrast sensitivity
Multiple causes of AMD:
- Aging , studies show that 10 % of the population between 66 and 74 years of age, showing signs of the disease in different stages
- Family history, nearly half of patients who have close relatives with the disease which is manifested in the course of time will also get yourself
- Increased exposure to ultra - violet radiation ( sunlight )
- The existence of the gene for the complement system proteins factor H ( CFH ) , factor B ( CFB) and factor 3 ( C3 ) , is significantly associated with the development of disease
- Stargardt 's disease
- cellular deposits of macula lutea
- High blood pressure ( hyper tension )
- Elevated cholesterol and triglycerides
- A high intake of fat and unhealthy diet
- Oxidative stress, accumulation of specific forms oligomers of melanin , the pigment retinal epithelium
- Affiliation to white race
- Cigarette smoking.
Treatment of the wet form of AMD is using AntiVEGF therapy.