What is AMD?
AMD is the first cause of blindness in people over 50 years old in developed countries. The last decade has witnessed a significant increase in the aging of the population of industrialized countries. This has lead to an increase in the incidents of many diseases related to aging, such as macular degeneration.
AMD is the deterioration of the visual cells (photoreceptors) of the macula. The macula is a very small part of the retina which is responsible for the vision of color, reading, and details.
This degenerative disease of the central area of the retina is responsible for a gradual and sometimes rapid decrease in vision which can lead to the total loss of central (or reading) vision.
By the numbers:
Individuals aged:- 60 years and older: 1 in 6 suffers from AMD
- 70 years and older: 1 in 4 suffers from AMD
- 75 years and older: 1 in 3 suffers from AMD
The rate of AMD in Canada is expected to double in the next 25 years.
- 1 million Canadians have early AMD
- 250,000 more Canadians have advanced AMD
- Over 64,200 Canadians are blind from AMD
*National Coalition for vision Health. Foundations for a Canadian Vision Health Strategy: Towards Preventing Avoidable Blindness and Promoting Vision Health Jan 2007. Available at: http://www.vision health.ca/projects/documents/Foundations-For-A-Canadian-Vision-Health-Strategy.pdf. Accessed September 3 2008
Because of the potential rapid progression of neovascular AMD, its detection in the early phase of the disease can contribute to reduce severe and irreversible visual loss.
The Disease
Age related macular degeneration (AMD) is the deterioration of the visual cells (photoreceptors) of the macula. The macula is a very small part of the retina which is responsible for color, reading, and details.
Degeneration of the macula can lead to legal blindness. While no reading or central vision is possible, very blurry vision on the sides remain.
There are two types of AMD:
Dry (or atrophic) macular degeneration :
Dry macular degeneration affects 90% of AMD patients.
Since it progresses slowly, it permits most of the time developing ways to adapt to the visual challenge.
There is currently no treatment for dry age related macular degeneration but many new drugs are currently under investigation and researchers are hoping for good results in a near future .
Wet (or exudative) macular degeneration:
Wet macular degeneration affects 10% of AMD patients.
It is the result of the growth of abnormal vessels in the area of the macula. These vessels leak, bleed and lead to scarring with the death of the visual cells of the macula and thus, permanent vision loss. Its evolution is rapid.
It provides symptoms of visual loss or vision distortion most often over a few days, weeks or months.
It is a treatable disease: The advent of recent pharmacological treatments for exudative AMD that stabilize and even restore some lost vision. We make it imperative to reach to patients who are at highest risk for severe visual loss .