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What is Macular Degeneration? |
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Who is at risk? |
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 Macular
Degeneration is the number one cause of legal blindness in
people over the age of 60. The most common form is
related to aging and is referred to as Age-related Macular
Degeneration (AMD or ARMD). There are other, rarer forms
of Macular Degeneration, but in this article we will
concentrate only on the age-related form
The risk of Macular degeneration significantly increases with age. In fact, people between the ages of 64 and 74 have a one-in-four chance of developing the disease. Over the age of 75, the chances increase to on-in-three. Many seniors already have Macular Degeneration and don't even know it. A Visit to your eye doctor is your greatest defense in helping to preserve your vision. |
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| How the eye works | |
The eye acts like a camera, with light passing through the clear structures in the front of the eye (cornea, lens) and focusing at the back of the eye, specifically on the retina. The retina acts like film in the camera, turning light into impulses that travel up the optic nerve to the brain. The brain then interprets these impulses and that's how we see. A specialized area of the retina called the macula is what allows us to see detailed, central vision. (Examples of central vision include recognizing a face, reading, or watching television.) The rest of the retina is responsible for peripheral, or side, vision. It cannot see detail like the macula.
In Macular Degeneration, the macula is damaged - that results in extreme loss of central vision. Since the peripheral retina is not involved, Macular degeneration does not lead to complete blindness.
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20/20 vision |
Untreated Macular Degeneration |
