LJ Eye Institute in Patiala offers the best care for macular degeneration, a primarily age-related retinal condition. With advanced treatments, including anti-VEGF injections for wet macular degeneration, their expert doctors ensure optimal outcomes. Macular degeneration can cause central vision loss, but you aren’t likely to lose all your vision. While there’s no cure, effective treatments are available to manage both wet and dry forms of the condition. LJ Eye Institute’s personalized approach guarantees top-notch care for patients seeking relief and improved quality of life.
What is macular degeneration?
Macular degeneration is an eye disease that affects central vision. This means that people with macular degeneration can’t see things directly in front of them. This common age-related eye condition mostly occurs in people over the age of 50.
Macular degeneration affects your macula, the central part of your retina. Your retina is in the back of your eye and controls central vision. People with macular degeneration aren’t completely blind. Their peripheral vision (ability to see things off to the sides) is fine.
Does macular degeneration affect both eyes?
Macular degeneration may develop in one eye or both eyes with different levels of severity.
Who might get macular degeneration?
As the term “age-related macular degeneration” (AMD) implies, macular degeneration is more likely to occur as you get older. However, people can develop macular degeneration at younger ages because of several factors.
In addition to age, risk factors for macular degeneration include:
- Having a family history of macular degeneration.
- Being overweight.
- Smoking.
- Having high blood pressure (hypertension).
- Eating a diet high in saturated fats.
- Being white.
What are the types of macular degeneration?
There are two types of macular degeneration: dry and wet.
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Dry (atrophic) macular degeneration
Nearly 90% of people with macular degeneration have the dry form. It develops when tiny yellow protein deposits called drusen form under your macula. The built-up deposits dry and thin your macula.
Vision loss with the dry form of macular degeneration tends to occur gradually. Most people don’t completely lose central vision. In some cases, the dry form can change to the wet form.
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Wet (exudative) macular degeneration
Wet (exudative) macular degeneration occurs when abnormal blood vessels develop under your retina and macula. The blood vessels leak blood and fluid. “Exudative” is a term that refers to how the fluids ooze.
Because of fluid buildup, a bulge forms in your macula. You may see dark spots in your center of vision. About 10% of people with macular degeneration have the wet form. This type is more severe. It can quickly lead to total loss of central vision.
What are the stages of macular degeneration?
Dry macular degeneration has three stages. Often, symptoms like vision loss aren’t evident until the late stage. However, your eye care provider can see signs when doing an exam.
- Early: Your macula changes, but vision isn’t affected.
- Intermediate: Vision may get blurry or wavy.
- Late (advanced): Central vision fails completely.
Symptoms and Causes
What causes macular degeneration?
Macular degeneration can be an inherited eye disease. But it also develops in people with no family history of the disease. Macular degeneration occurs when the macula at the back of your eye starts to waste away for unknown reasons. Getting older is a factor in age-related macular degeneration.
Non-age-related macular degeneration may be associated with:
- Diabetes.
- Head injuries.
- Infections.
- A diet lacking in required nutrients.
What are the symptoms of macular degeneration?
The macula helps send images from your eye’s optic nerve to your brain. If you have a damaged macula, your brain can’t understand or read the images that your eyes see.
Many people with macular degeneration don’t have symptoms until the disease progresses. You may experience:
- Being less able to see in low light.
- Blurred vision.
- Problems or changes in the way you see colors.
- Low vision.
- Straight lines that you see as curving or wavy. If you’re looking at lines that you know should be straight but they appear wavy or curved, you should contact an eye care provider.
- Blank spots or dark spots in your field of vision.
Diagnosis and Tests
How is macular degeneration diagnosed?
Macular degeneration rarely causes symptoms in its early stages, so annual eye examinations are very important. They’ll help your provider find the disease early and start treatments when they’re most effective.
During an eye exam, your eye care provider checks for changes to your retina and macula. Your provider may order one or more of these tests:
- Amsler grid test: An Amsler grid has a grid of straight lines with a large dot in the center. Your healthcare provider may ask you to identify lines or sections on the grid that look blurry, wavy or broken. A lot of distortion may indicate that you have macular degeneration or show that the disease is getting worse. You can use this at home to monitor your symptoms and look for any progression.
- Dilated eye exam: Eye drops dilate, or widen, your pupils. Your provider will give you the drops and dilate your eyes and then will use a special lens to look inside your eyes.
- Fluorescein angiography: Your healthcare provider injects a yellow dye called fluorescein into a vein in your arm. A special camera tracks the dye as it travels through blood vessels in your eye. The photos can reveal any leakage under your macula.
- Optical coherence tomography (OCT): This imaging machine takes detailed images of the back of your eye, including your retina and macula. Optical coherence tomography isn’t invasive or painful. You simply look into a lens while the machine takes pictures.
- Optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA): This diagnostic tool uses laser light reflection (instead of fluorescein dye) and the OCT scanning device. It takes just a few moments and produces 3D images of blood flow through your eye.
Management and Treatment
How is macular degeneration managed or treated?
There’s no cure for macular degeneration. Starting treatments early can slow the progression of the disease and make symptoms less severe. Even with successful treatments, symptoms often return. Depending on the disease type, treatments include nutritional supplements, medications, photodynamic therapy (PDT) and laser therapy.
Medications to treat wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD)?
There are drugs that treat but don’t cure wet AMD. They include anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) injections. They block the production of VEGF, which is a protein that produces new blood vessels. Your provider, generally a retina specialist, will numb your eye before giving you a shot into the vitreous (intravitreal injections). Anti-VEGF shots can sometimes improve your vision.
These drugs include:
- Aflibercept (Eylea®).
- Ranibizumab (Lucentis®).
- Bevacizumab (Avastin®).
- Faricimab-svoa (VABYSMO®).
- Brolucizumab (Beovu®).
What are the side effects or risks of macular degeneration treatments?
Treatments for wet AMD carry some risk of complications, including:
- Eye infection.
- Retinal detachment.
- Structural eye damage.
- Faster onset of cataracts.
- Severe vision loss.
Why Choose LJ Eye Institute for Macular Degeneration Treatment?
LJ Eye Institute in Patiala stands out for its cutting-edge approach to treating macular degeneration. Here’s why it’s the best choice:
- Expert Doctors: With a team of experienced ophthalmologists specializing in retinal diseases, the institute offers world-class expertise in managing both wet and dry macular degeneration.
- Advanced Technology: The institute uses state-of-the-art diagnostic tools like Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) to detect and monitor the condition with precision.
- Personalized Treatment Plans: Whether it’s anti-VEGF injections for wet AMD or lifestyle advice for managing dry AMD, treatments are tailored to each patient’s needs.
- Comprehensive Eye Care: LJ Eye Institute offers a full range of eye care services, ensuring that patients receive the best care for their overall vision health.
With a focus on compassionate care and excellent patient outcomes, LJ Eye Institute provides the best treatment for macular degeneration in Patiala.