Age-related macular degeneration, or AMD, is a disease that affects part of the back of the eye called the macula, the central part of the retina. This can cause the center part of your vision to become blurry or wavy. It could also cause a blind spot in the center of your vision.

AMD can cause vision loss quickly or slowly, and can make it very hard for you to do things that require sharp vision, such as reading, driving or sewing. The good news is that AMD almost never causes total blindness, since it usually does not hurt side vision.

Types of AMD

There are two kinds of AMD. "Wet" AMD causes the most serious vision loss. In this form of the disease, tiny unhealthy blood vessels grow under the retina. These blood vessels often break and leak, causing loss of vision. The most common form of AMD is "dry" AMD. This form of the disease usually progresses more slowly.

A photo of an eye with "Wet" AMD. Source: National Eye Institute

A photo of an eye with "Dry" AMD. Source: National Eye Institute

How Do We Check for AMD?

If you are 65 or older, you should get a complete eye exam every one or two years, even if you have no problem seeing well. During a complete eye exam, called a dilated eye exam, the eye doctor widens the pupil of the eye with eye drops to allow a closer look at the inside of the eye.

The exam is not painful, but it may not be part of an eye exam for a new pair of eyeglasses or contact lenses.

Be sure to ask your eye doctor for a dilated eye exam. This exam will allow your eye doctor to check for eye diseases such as AMD.

Treatment Options

The treatment of AMD has changed very rapidly over the past few years, and new potential treatments continue to be developed and tested.

The drug Lucentis (ranibizumab) was approved by the FDA for treating AMD in June 2006. The drug is injected into the eye, often once a month over the course of many months. Lucentis has been shown to improve vision by at least 3 lines in about one third of patients over a one year course of treatment.

Avastin (bevacizumab) is a drug similar to Lucentis that is used to treat colon cancer. Ophthalmologists may prescribe Avastin off label for the treatment of AMD. The National Eye Institute has announced funding of research to compare Avastin and Lucentis as treatments for AMD.

Macugen (pegabtanib) was approved in 2004 to treat Wet AMD, and is used solely or in combination with other AMD treatments.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) uses a laser beam with a light-sensitive dye to destroy unhealthy new blood vessels under the retina. This treatment is used in combination with other AMD treatments.

Another laser treatment, called photocoagulation, uses a stronger laser to destroy new blood vessels. The treatment itself may leave permanent blind spots in a person’s vision. But it helps to slow or stop the growth of new blood vessels.

Other treatments

Vitamin Supplements. There is evidence that dietary supplements can help prevent the onset and progression of age-relatated macular degeneration. People with AMD should discuss nutrition strategies with their eye doctor and consider whether taking a vitamin supplement containing lutein might be right for them.

Lifestyle changes, such as quitting smoking, exercising and eating well may also help prevent AMD.