Age-related macular degeneration - Definition and Overview

This article or section should be merged with macular degeneration

Human eye cross-sectional view. Courtesy NIH National Eye Institute

Normal vision. Courtesy NIH National Eye Institute

The same view with age-related macular deneneration.

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is an disease which blurs the central, sharp vision of the eye by damaging the macula, the part of the eye which allows you to see fine details. It is the main cause of vision loss in Americans who are 60 or more years old. It can progress so slowly that it isn't noticed or it can progress quickly.

There are two types of macular generation, wet and dry.

Wet AMD

Wet AMD is caused by abnormal blood vessels behind the retina growing under the macula. The new blood vessels tend to be fragile, break easiy and leak blood, which raises the macula from its normal place. This rapidly damages the macula. With wet AMD loss of central (sharp) vision can be rapid and it is always considered to be advanced AMD and more severe than the dry form. An early symptom of wet AMD is straight lines appearing wavy. Anyone who sees this or other changes in vision should contact their eye doctor at once to get a comprehensive dilated eye examination.

Dry AMD

More information on the subject is available here (http://www.nei.nih.gov/health/maculardegen/armd%5Ffacts.htm).