Macular Hole Surgery

Posts Tagged ‘degeneration’

Is There an Effective Macular Degeneration Cure?
By Matt Murren

Macular degeneration is a disease that many older Americans have to deal with on a daily basis. While there is no macular degeneration cure, it can be managed and treated quite successfully. People suffering with the disease have certain treatment options that will help improve their vision and may at least delay the progression of the disease.

There are certain risk factors involved when looking at macular degeneration. It is generally associated with environmental conditions and genetic factors. It is definitely age-related and most often occurs in people over the age of 50. Caucasians are more like to develop the disease than other races. Women experience it more often than men and smokers of either gender are more susceptible to the disease. Genetics play a role also because the disease tends to run in families.

As with any medical condition, it is important to diagnose macular degeneration in its early stages. Early onset of this disease is usually the dry form but if left untreated can progress into the more advanced and serious wet form. The wet form of the disease usually results in serious loss of vision. There are really no reliable treatment options for the early, dry form but it can be controlled by eating the right foods and taking nutritional supplements. Nutrients such as zinc, zeaxanthin and vitamins A, C and E seem to be effective in slowing down the disease.

Once the disease has progressed to the wet stage, there are certain medications and medical treatments that can be prescribed. They include drugs such as Lucentis, Macugen and Visudyne which are often accompanied by other therapies as well. The more invasive laser treatment is often recommended when the disease has progressed past the dry stage. Laser light is used to seal blood vessels in the eye which then prevents any leakage from occurring. Scarring sometimes occurs during the laser process and can cause additional vision problems for the patient. While there is no macular degeneration cure, it can be controlled and managed with the right treatment plan.

Matt writes more about Macular Degeneration Cure at http://www.dry-macular.com

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Bioptic Glasses For Low Vision
By Susan Slobac

Low vision devices include eyeglasses, but there are many more low vision products available today that can assist patients in living with macular degeneration symptoms. While laser surgery can be used to treat the “wet” variety of age-related macular degeneration, or AMD, there is no known cure for the “dry” form of this leading cause of blindness. However, low vision devices can help such a victim in making the most of what eyesight remains.

Age related macular degeneration (AMD) affects the central part of the retina, and therefore one’s ability to determine fine details such as print, faces, and images. Essentially, one develops a “hole” in one’s vision; if the subject is looking at an object that appears smaller than this “hole,” the object cannot be seen clearly. Therefore, the purpose of low vision devices is to increase the apparent size of these objects.

Because we use our eyes in different ways in different situations, there is no one solution for addressing macular degeneration symptoms. One patient may require several different low vision products. Bifocal reading glasses are one of the best known and most common low vision devices, but may not be appropriate for all macular degeneration symptoms.

Bioptic glasses for low vision, also known as bioptic telescopes, are low vision devices that actually consist of miniature telescopes mounted atop a pair of regular glasses. Such low vision devices can be adjusted for a wide range of activities that require both distance and near vision. While bioptic glasses for low vision work in the same way (you tilt your head forward slightly), they differ from bifocal reading glasses in that the telescopic lens is not integrated into the primary lens itself.

Other low vision products for age related macular degeneration include such products as the portable digital magnifier, which resembles “virtual reality” goggles and is used in conjunction with a special pair of glasses. One of the most interesting low vision products on the market today consists of a miniature TV camera that actually rests on the surface of whatever the patient is reading, magnifies it, and sends that image electronically, projecting an image on the inner surfaces of eyeglass lenses! Such a system allows the patient’s head to remain in an upright position; no longer is it necessary to tilt one’s head.

Of course, such high-tech vision aids are quite expensive at the present. However, if the history of other technologies such as the PC and the DVD is any indicator, the cost of such low vision devices should come down substantially over the next few years.

Susan Slobac has a parent diagnosed with macular degenration. During the course of his treatment, Ms. Slobac has become familiar with number of low vision products and aids currently in use.

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