Professional Health Blog

While there is no proven treatment for macular degeneration, especially when it is in the dry form, laser photocoagulation therapy has been seen to be effective in some cases of wet macular degeneration. This form of therapy involves closing of the leaky blood vessels. While this can act as a good preventive measure for any further loss of vision, it can not rehabilitate vision that is lost. A therapy that causes less damage than photocoagulation therapy is the photodynamic therapy, which has been in use for the treatment of wet macular degeneration in recent times. This form of treatment effectively halts the growth of further blood vessels.

Whatever the treatment modality, early detection can be the key in the treatment for macular degeneration, especially the wet form. Any disturbance or distortion in vision can also be checked at home with the help of Amsler grid – a simple yet effective tool for early diagnosis of macular degeneration. Since the dry form of macular degeneration can quickly change its form and turn into the wet type, it is recommended that a dry AMD patient should regularly consult his or her eye doctor and follow his prescriptions and advice regarding the management of its progression and any deterioration of the condition.

The primary objective of treatment of wet macular degeneration is to arrest further vision loss as well as reduce the dimension of the ‘blind spot’ which obstructs the central vision. In other words, laser technology is used in these treatments to kill the atypical blood vessels. One of the latest treatment methods for wet macular degeneration was approved by FDA in 2004. It involves using pegaptanib, which is essentially a growth inhibitor which not only impedes the growth of new and abnormal blood vessels, it also arrests any bloody leakage. This form of treatment has showed marked improvement in prevention of loss of vision as compared to conventional therapies so far used. Though promising, this form of treatment is rather inconvenient, since the effect lasts only temporarily and the patient has to undergo the therapy every six weeks. It has definitely paved the way for newer discoveries in the treatment for macular degeneration.

The other treatment modalities include conventional laser therapy, photo dynamic therapy and trans-pupillary thermo therapy. All are used to treat wet macular degeneration and not the dry form. Recent studies have shown that there is a powerful connection between nutrition and the risk or progression of macular degeneration. Diets rich in fruits, green and leafy vegetables and fish, are considered to be playing an important role in the development of this serious eye disorder. Needles to mention, more research into this particular field will throw more light on the subject.

Peter Rankin owns and operates www.maculardegenerationguide.com Macular Degeneration