Macular Degeneration

Macular degeneration is the most common cause of legal blindness in North America. It involves an accumulation of metabolic byproducts which can cause damage to the deeper  layers of the retina. There are two kinds of macular degeneration: wet and dry. Dry macular degeneration causes slow vision loss over time. Certain vitamins have been shown to help slow progression of dry macular degeneration to wet macular degeneration. Wet macular degeneration is a type of macular degeneration which can evolve from the dry form. The development of abnormal blood vessels in the retina and their leakage is usually responsible for the progression of dry macular degeneration towards wet macular degeneration. Once wet macular degeneration has started, it can progress rapidly and cause irreversible central visual loss. For this reason, it is of paramount importance for all patients with macular degeneration to follow up closely with an opthhalmologist in order to recognize and treat wet macular degeneration at its earliest stages. With the use of the Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor  (VEGF) inhibitors, we are now able to very effectively treat  a large number of wet macular degeneration patients in order to prevent severe vision loss.