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Macular Degeneration Portland
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a problem with your retina. It happens when the central part of the retina called the macula is damaged. With AMD you lose your central vision. You cannot see fine details close or far. But your side vision will remain normal. For instance, imagine you are looking at a clock with hands. With AMD, you might see the clock’s numbers but not the hands.
Please contact us to schedule an appointment to be evaluated for AMD. Your ophthalmologist will put dilating eye drops in your eye to widen your pupil. This allows him or her to look through a special lens at the inside of your eye.
Risk for AMD
You are more likely to develop AMD if you:
- Smoke cigarettes
- Are over 50 years old
- Have a family history of AMD
- Are Caucasian (white)
- Heart disease
- High cholesterol levels
- Are overweight
Dry AMD & Treatment
About 80% of people who have AMD have the more common dry form. Dry AMD is when parts of the macula get thinner with age and tiny clumps of debris called drusen grow. You slowly lose central vision.
Right now, there is no way to treat the dry form of AMD. However people with lots of drusen or serious vision loss might benefit from taking a certain combination of nutritional supplements. A large study found those people may slow their dry AMD by taking these vitamins and minerals daily: Vitamin C (500 mg), Vitamin E (400 IU), Lutein (10 mg), Zeaxanthin (2 mg), Zinc (80 mg), Copper (2 mg).
Wet AMD & Treatment
This form is less common but much more serious. Wet AMD is when new, abnormal blood vessels grow under the retina. These vessels may leak blood or other fluids, causing swelling and ultimately, scarring of the macula. You lose vision faster with wet AMD than with dry AMD.
To help treat wet AMD, there are medications called anti-Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) drugs (Avastin, Lucentis, Eylea). Anti-VEGF treatment helps reduce the number of abnormal blood vessels in your retina and prevent them from leaking fluid or blood. This medicine is delivered to your eye through a very slender needle injection under aseptic (clean) conditions.