Macular Degeneration - Symptoms & Treatment

Macular degeneration is a medical condition preponderantly found in elderly adults in which the center of the inner lining of the eye, known as the macular area of the retina, suffers thinning, atrophy, and in some cases bleeding. This can result in loss of medial vision, that entails incompetency to see fine details, to read, or to recognize faces. The most common type of macular degeneration is called age-related macular degeneration (AMD), as it usually expatiates in patients over the age of 55. A sporadic form of macular generation, called juvenile macular degeneration (JMD), occurs in younger patients, including infants and children. JMD is an inherited disorder caused by mutated genes. The cause is mysterious, but the condition tends to run in families. There are two forms of age-related macular degeneration, dry (atrophic) and wet (neovascular or exudative) macular degeneration. In dry macular degeneration, the tissues of the macula thin as cells evanesce. There is no proof of scarring or of bleeding or other fluid leakage in the retina. In wet macular degeneration, abnormal blood vessels develop in the layer of tissue underneath the macula. These vessels may leak fluid and blood under the retina in that area.

Age-related macular degeneration is a degenerative precondition of the macula (the central retina ). Macular degeneration is caused when part of the retina retrogrades. The retina is the layer of tissue on the inside back wall of your eyeball. Degeneration of the macula causes obfuscated central vision or a blind spot in the center of your visual field. The first symptom of macular degeneration may be a need for more light when you do close-up work. Fine newsprint may become harder to read and street signs more oppressive to recognize. Gray or blank spots may mask the center of your perceivable field. The condition usually develops gradually, but sometimes approaches rapidly, leading to serious vision loss in one or both eyes. There are two forms of macular degeneration. Dry macular degeneration affects about 90% of those with the disease and causes gradational loss of central vision, initially only in one eye. Wet macular degeneration, that accounts for 90% of all severe vision loss from the disease, involves a very precipitant loss of central vision.

Causes of Macular Degeneration

The common causes and risk factor's of Macular Degeneration

• Family history of macular degeneration.
• Cigarette smoking.
• Light eye color.
• Excessive exposure to sunlight .

Symptoms of Macular Degeneration

Some common Symptoms of Macular Degeneration :

• Straight lines look wavy .
• Colors look dim.
• Distinct shapes are blurry.
• Blind spots.
• Slightly blurred vision.