Tag: blindness

What is Macular Degeneration?

Karen Griffith 2 Comments

Macular degeneration is a retinal disease which can lead to legal blindness. More specifically, it affects the macula, the portion of the retina important for detailed vision like reading.

There are two forms of macular degeneration: wet and dry. Dry macular degeneration is usually slower in destruction of the macula, causing gradual to little loss of central vision. The wet form is more aggressive and destroys the central vision faster. The wet form is associated with the presence of abnormal blood vessels growing somewhere within the layers of the retina. These abnormal blood vessels can leak and bleed.

ARMD wet before treatment

Dry macular degeneration causes a slower loss of tissue. While there is treatment for the wet form, there is no approved treatment for the dry form.

Drusen (800x533)

Symptoms of Macular Degeneration include blurry central vision and/or distortion. In some cases, there may be blind spots within the central vision. The vision loss in both types is progressive. It is the rate at which vision loss develops which differentiates the wet form from the dry. Remember, wet macular degeneration causes faster and more devastating loss of vision compared to the dry form.

Treatment for Macular Degeneration

There is no treatment for dry macular degeneration. While AREDS (Age-Related Eye Disease Study) vitamins may be indicated for a small subset of macular degeneration patients, it does not improve the condition or vision. The supplements are primarily preventative. There are different formulations of “eye vitamins,” but the contents of the supplement used for the study were 500 milligrams of vitamin C; 400 International Units of vitamin E; 15 milligrams of beta-carotene (often labeled as equivalent to 25,000 International Units of vitamin A); 80 milligrams of zinc as zinc oxide; and two milligrams of copper as cupric oxide. Copper was added to the AREDS formulations containing zinc to prevent copper deficiency anemia, a condition associated with high levels of zinc intake.

Other preventative measures for both types of macular degeneration include not smoking, regular exercise and a healthy diet.

The mainstay of treatment for wet macular degeneration involves injections into the eye with anti-VEGF (Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor) medications.

These medications (Lucentis, Avastin, Eylea) attach to the abnormal blood vessels, preventing additional leakage and bleeding. Often there can be improvement in vision.

Early treatment is key to maintaining vision. Regular dilated eye examinations are advised.

How does Diabetes Damage the Eyes?

Karen Griffith

Vision Loss

Over time uncontrolled blood sugar and poor circulation can harm the internal structures of the eye.
Blurry or Double Vision
Fluctuating blood sugar and fluctuating vision are connected. A change in glucose levels affects the eye’s ability to maintain sharp focus. It may take several months after your blood sugar is well controlled for your vision to stabilize.
Diabetic Retinopathy
The leading cause of diabetes-related vision loss is diabetic retinopathy. Diabetic retinopathy can damages the network of blood vessels supplying the retina or cause the growth of  abnormal  blood vessels on the retina. When these fragile blood vessels leak, the fluid and blood damage the retina and can cause permanent vision loss.
Cataracts
People with diabetes have a much greater risk for developing cataracts and at an earlier age. A cataract is clouding of the eye’s natural lens and results in the inability to focus light, glare and compromised vision,
Glaucoma
Diabetes also increases your risk of developing glaucoma. Glaucoma causes irreversible damage to the retina and optic nerve. If untreated, this damage leads to vision loss.

Scheduling regular eye exams can help detect diabetes-related eye diseases before they cause irreversible damage.
Exercise, a healthy diet and keeping glucose levels and blood pressure controlled can also help control eye problems.

High Blood Pressure and the Eyes

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High Blood Pressure (HBP) is a serious condition that can lead to coronary heart disease, heart failure, stroke, kidney failure and vision loss. “Blood Pressure” is the force of blood pushing against the walls of the arteries as the heart pumps blood. If this pressure rises and stays high over time, it can damage the body in many ways.

About 1 in 3 adults in the United States has HBP. The condition itself usually has no signs or symptoms. You can have it for years without knowing it. During this time, the HBP can damage your heart, blood vessels, kidneys and eyes.

Blood Pressure tends to rise with age. Sometimes medication can control it. Following a healthy lifestyle helps people delay, prevent or control the BP.

Hypertension can cause damage to the blood vessels in the retina. This picture of the retina shows an eye with hypertensive retinopathy. The arrows point to arteries and veins crossing each other. In a healthy eye the vessels run parallel. The crossings are dangerous because one of the vessels can be occluded. If an artery is blocked, blood will not flow to the retina beyond the occlusion and the retina will die. This causes a permanent blind spot. If a vein is occluded there will be bleeding which may cause a chain of negative events including loss of vision, abnormal vessel growth and glaucoma.

Hypertensive retinopathy typically won’t have any symptoms. It is found during a dilated eye exam. The earlier it is detected the sooner the blood pressure can be controlled preventing vision loss, stroke and death.

The best way to prevent hypertensive retinopathy is by keeping blood pressure controlled by diet, exercise and taking medications as prescribed.