The Human Biology in Medical Field

Posts Tagged ‘Macular’

by Community Eye Health photos

Macular degeneration is one of the most frequent causes of impaired vision in the UK. This painless eye condition is common among people above the age of 50. According to a report published by National Health Service (NHS) in 2008, approximately 30% of individuals above the age of 75 were suffering from the preliminary stage of macular degeneration and 7% had crossed to the advanced stages. According to one estimate, more than 239,000 people will be affected by age-related macular degeneration by 2011.

What is Macular Degeneration?

Dry macular degeneration is an eye condition that leads to the loss of vision from the centre of the retina, which we use to view fine detail. It means that a person suffering from severe macular degeneration may not be able to read, write or drive. To perform all these activities, we focus our vision through the central portion of the retina, which is called the macula.

This is what enables us to focus on and view subjects that are directly in front of our eyes. The degeneration of the macula does not affect peripheral vision or side vision as severely.

Wet macular degeneration is caused by abnormal blood vessels growing which then leak. This can force the retina to lift away from the eye wall, which then can cause swelling and affect the person’s eyesight. A common symptom for a sufferer of wet AMD is to see straight lines appearing wavy. This needs a trip to the doctor immediately as eyesight lost through wet AMD cannot be retrieved.

Causes of Macular Degeneration

Macular degeneration commonly affects people above 50 years of age. Different health conditions lead to different forms of macular degeneration.

As a person grows older, wear and tear affects the body, especially if the owner has a poor diet of high cholesterol combined with smoking and high blood pressure. Physical changes may occur in the central retinal tissue, the macular, and the rods and cones (or photoreceptors) begin to break down, resulting in deteriorating eyesight. As this worsens, central vision becomes hazy or blurred. This is called dry macular degeneration.

Wet macular degeneration starts with new blood vessels growing in the retina. The new blood vessels can leak blood, causing the retina to lift away from the eye wall and in turn severely damaging the person’s vision. Eyesight destroyed in this way cannot be repaired.

Macular degeneration is a rare phenomenon at a lower age. In younger people, this problem can surface due to some physical defects existing since birth. Inherited genetic disorders can also lead to macular degeneration among younger people.

Macular Degeneration: Major Symptoms

Similar to diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration starts showing measurable symptoms at a very advanced stage. The two major symptoms of this visual defect are:

Loss of ability to judge the fine details of an object or image.
Loss of ability to understand contrast variation.

Specific symptoms of dry macular degeneration are hazy vision, the inability to identify faces, need for brighter light when reading and difficulty in reading the newspaper. Wet macular degeneration patients will experience more evident symptoms, such as major visual distortion and blind spots.

There are several vision correction methods available to control wet macular degeneration. For dry AMD, control is usually effected by changing to a healthier diet and lifestyle, such as cutting out smoking and reducing fat intake. To detect macular degeneration at an early stage, consult an eye doctor immediately if experiencing changes in eyesight.

For more information on macular degeneration treatment, browse the internet for specialist eye hospitals. Their websites can provide detailed information on the symptoms and treatment available. Look for a specialist provider of ophthalmic services. Make sure they focus on personalised treatment tailored to each of their patients as you’ll want to ensure the best possible results in an environment where you can feel relaxed and well cared for. They should also be using advanced technologies and have leading ophthalmic surgeons on their staff.

by pmarkham

One of the leading causes of blindness for people 55 years and older is a condition called macular degeneration. Nearly ten million people in the U.S. are affected by it. This is more than those blinded by glaucoma and cataracts combined. Macular degeneration is gradual and painless that many may not realize they have unless they have been screened by an experienced ophthalmologist.

Causes of Macular Degeneration

Macular degeneration, or age related macular degeneration (AMD), is caused by the cells in the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) wearing out. The retina has a layer of cells behind it called the macula. The cells of the macula are made up of rods and cones, and are in turn made up of two segments. The inner segment produces proteins that respond to light, while the outer segment stores and uses the proteins. When the outer segment wears out, they are removed by RPE cells.

The inner segment then replaces the degraded outer segment cells. When the RPE cells begin to degrade and cannot remove waste anymore, the result is yellow, fat-like deposits that form below the rods and cones.

Symptoms of Macular Degeneration

Symptoms include:
• Fuzzy or distorted vision
• Areas of shadow in central vision
• Blurred printed words
• Difficulty recognizing faces
• Difficulty adapting to seeing in levels of low light
• Need for very bright light for near distance vision activities
• Difficulty recognizing faces

Treatment of Macular Degeneration

No treatment can undo the damage done by AMD, but there are certain things you can do to slowdown the progress of the disease. Early stage AMD may be slowed by a high dose regimen of vitamin supplements. These are:

• 500 mg of vitamin C
• 400 IU of vitamin E
• 80 mg of zinc oxide
• 15 mg of beta carotene
• 2 mg of copper

Advanced stage AMD may be slowed by taking the drugs Lucentis, Macugen, or Visudyne. Speak to your ophthalmologist about which regimen may benefit you the most.

by pmarkham

Article by jekky

Has become the blindness in the elderly over the age of 65 the culprit. But the good news is that there are a number of new drug R & D line drug treatment of this disease. With the average age of the U.S. population increases, the incidence of age-related macular degeneration is rising. According to the U.S. Ophthalmology Society (National EyeInstitute) statistics, U.S. age-related macular degeneration patients have more than 800 million people. Effect of general and current high price of treatment, and after Glass Injection treatment is limited because of cost. Being on good effect and the higher cost of treatment rising demand push Pharmacy Companies are working to develop cost-effective high drug resistance to age-related macular degeneration. Present, for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration, ranibizumab, bevacizumab intravitreal injection required monthly, this lengthy delivery process difficult patients. Pharmaceutical companies are trying to develop eye drops to treat age-related macular degeneration. Othera pharmaceutical companies are carrying out OT-551 for the treatment plan atrophy?? A newer type of dry age-related macular degeneration, has entered a phase clinical trials. In preclinical studies, OT-551 demonstrated anti- Oxidation , Anti-angiogenic and anti-inflammatory activity. OT-551 is carrying out plans atrophy multi-center clinical trial, a two-year trial, 198 patients in the U.S. more than 20 research centers to participate in the test eye. Othera is working with the U.S. National Eye Institute to conduct a joint OT-551, another phase clinical trial to determine the drug on patients with bilateral atrophy map the impact of disease progression. In 2008, the upcoming phase clinical trials, Othera the company will study the OT-551 as an assistant drug ranibizumab, ranibizumab injection to reduce the frequency, in order to achieve the same results or better results. There is a drug in the study is CoMentis’s ATG3 ophthalmic solution. Currently, ATG3 in Phase clinical study aimed to evaluate the old wet macular degeneration drug Security Sex. CoMentis company hopes to gain in 2008 for 6 months of the experimental data. This year in August, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and Bayer Co-initiate the VEGFTrap-Eye Phase clinical trials. VEGFTrap-Eye is a humanized soluble vascular endothelial growth factor fusion protein, energy and all types of vascular endothelial growth factor A and placental growth factor binding, thereby treating age-related macular degeneration. The early phase clinical studies have shown that the use of VEGFTrap-Eye12 months after the party in the reduction of retinal thickness Mask Statistically significant differences. As retina more sensitive to oxidative injury, and many people believe that antioxidants can be added on the progress of the disease have a significant impact. In fact, the age-related eye disease study (AREDS) has shown that antioxidants in preventing and delaying the progress of the disease is very useful. Taking Vitamin C , E, zinc and -carotene in patients with patients taking the drug compared to the control, the incidence rate has dropped by 28%. Phase of age-related eye disease study (AREDS2) is on the lutein, zeaxanthin, and long-chain Omega-3 fatty acids delay the age-related macular degeneration in the progress of the role of the clinical trial were enrolled in December will be the end of this year. GenVec Inc. is looking for an innovative method of treatment of age-related macular degeneration. This treatment is currently in phase I clinical trials, the treatment delivery vector for use AdenovectorDNA pigment epithelium derived factor ( PE DF) gene. AdPEDF can effectively inhibit the growth of blood vessels into the eye is not correct, prevention of damage caused by loopholes in the blood vessels.

More Retinal Degeneration Articles

Article by P.S. Orr

More Retinal Degeneration Articles

by pmarkham

Article by Mark Hermes

Incoming search terms:

• bruised retina cause blindness

by pmarkham

Article by Dr Carlo Rinaudo

Do you suffer from Age Related Macular Degeneration, or know someone who does, then having an understanding of this condition is a must. Knowing about its presentation, typical signs and symptoms, and preventative measures is a great way of avoiding this common condition.

Age related macular degeneration is one of the leading causes of blindness in the elderly population. This eye disease will gradually destroy the sharp, central vision of the eye. This is the main part of your vision. Without the central vision, you will no longer be able to read, drive or perform routine daily tasks.

Macular degeneration affects the part of the eye called the macula. The macula is located right in the center of the retina. The retina is the tissue that lines the back of the eye and it is very light sensitive. The job of the retina is to convert light or images into electrical impulses and send these impulses to the brain.

There are two types of macular degeneration. There is ‘wet age’ and ‘dry age’ related macular degeneration. The type of degeneration you have will determine how fast you can lose your eyesight.

Wet age related macula degeneration happens because blood vessels behind the retina will start to form underneath the macula. These blood vessels have a tendency to leak fluid and sometimes blood.

When the vessels behind the macula begin to leak fluid, this will raise the macula from it’s normal spot. This will damage the macula quickly and loss of central vision will occur. This type of age related macular degeneration is sometimes referred to as advanced age related macular disease.

Dry age related macular degeneration occurs when light sensitive cells in the macula slowly break down. This cell breakdown will cause central vision to diminish, and will usually occurs in one eye only. Over time, the other eye may be affected with dry age related retinal degeneration.

The most common form of age related macular degeneration is the dry form of degeneration, with over 85% of the affected people.

There is no guaranteed cure for wet or dry age related macular degeneration. If you have wet macular disease, laser treatments and injections can slow down the vision loss, but it does not mean that the vision loss will not come back.

If you have the advanced form of dry age related macular degeneration, there is no treatment. If you are not in the advanced stage, your doctor may prescribe specific daily amounts of antioxidants. This formulation is not a cure for dry age related macular degeneration. This specific formulation of antioxidants will not restore your vision but it may slow down the progression of advanced dry age related retinal degeneration.

If you notice any changes in your vision, you should see your eye care professional right away. The sooner you get a diagnosis the sooner you can start treatment.

To find out more helpful tips and information with Eye and Vision Care, be sure to visit the Eyesight Correction and Vision Conditions website.

by

This is a disease of the older generation. One that I had not heard of before my father started showing signs of it. Taking ample amounts of omega 3 may prevent it.

It is a progressive disease that affects your center vision. Centre vision is required to be able to read and drive. The people suffering from this disease need to give up driving, and need a special magnifying glass, which lights up in order to read.

The disease can affect one or both the eyes. It is one of the main cause of blindness in the people who are over the age of 60.

People who are aware of this disease, shudder with fright as they approach 60 years of age. As I am searching for help for my father, I am also aware that the disease is hereditary. You need to look for ways to prevent this disease catching up with you in the later stages of life.

Taking omega 3 supplements in the early ages could help to prevent this disease in the old age.

The macula tissue is present in the middle of the retina. The retina is sensitive to light. The retina’s job is to change light or pictures into electrical impulses and send them onto the brain.

Macular degeneration are of two types.

The first one is known as wet macular degeneration. It is caused by the abnormal growth of the blood vessels behind the retina. The blood vessels are very delicate and can possibly let blood or fluids leak out. This makes the macula to rise out of the normal spot at the back of the eye. When this happens, the damage to the macula is rapid.

The blindness that sets in rapidly, is known as as Advanced Macular Degeneration.

You can watch for early symptoms of AMD by using a chart. This chart has intersecting lines on it. It sort of looks like graph paper. There is a dot in the middle of each intersecting line. If these lines appear wavy as you test them with each eye, covering each eye one by one, then you need to see your eye specialist right away.

The second type is dry AMD. The dry type starts when the light sensitive tissues in the macula slowly break down. Your central vision slowly becomes blurred. As the dry AMD worsens, a blurry spot appears in the central vision. With the passage of time condition gets worse, you could loose your sight in the affected eye.

Drusen is the earliest symptom of AMD. Drusen can be diagnosed by the eye doctor in a routine eye examination when they dilate your pupils. They are yellow spots found under the retina. It is normally found in people over 60 years of age. If there is an increase in the number of these yellow spots or their size, it’s a sign of them possibly developing either type of the AMD ending in loosing sight.

Apart from age, the other risk factors for developing AMD are:

Smoking
Obesity
Race
Family history and gender.

Changes in your lifestyle that could make a difference are:

Eating a good diet of green leafy vegetables and fish
Keeping your blood pressure under control
Maintaining a healthy weight
Regular Exercise. And definitely don’t smoke.

Another change in lifestyle, you could adopt could be to add more Omega 3 to your diet. As mentioned above, include fish in your diet. Not everyone enjoys eating fish. There are a variety of ways to get Omega 3 and a good way to know you are getting enough is to take supplements.

My father is almost blind now. I hope that the disease does not progress any further. We have put him on Omega 3 supplements hoping it will stall the disease. Only time will tell. As for others, try to prevent it before it happens to you.

Incoming search terms:

• the maculars job

by

The macula is a very small spot in the center of the back of the eye (retina) that sees clear, colored vision. The other part of the retina is composed of rods that see movements. So it can be pretty scary if a hole develops in this part of the eye. Aside from a blurry vision, macular holes can also affect night vision and peripheral vision.

Macular Hole Surgery are more likely to develop in people around the age of 60. Holes in the macula can occur due to vitreous shrinkage and/or separation, eye injury or a detached retina. Although the development of macular disorder is yet to be determined, it most likely occur from the vitreous.

A vitreous is a gel like material that fills the back of the eye. Also called the vitreous body, this helps keep the eye its shape.

However, the vitreous shrinks with aging. As it shrinks it can pull on the retina, referred to as a hole.

If macular hole is untreated, it can get worse over time. In some cases, macular hole can be fixed sometimes without intervention. However, in most cases, it requires treatment to avoid total loss of vision.

A vitrectomy is a common treatment for macular holes. This Macular Hole Surgery is done by removing the vitreous gel to stop it from pulling on the retina. Then a retinal specialist inserts air bubbles and gas into the space once occupied by the vitreous allowing the macula to heal. The bubbles gradually fades over time and natural eye fluids will take its place.

The surgery itself is easy but the post operation period can be tough. The patient must lie face down for days so that the bubble stays in the right place in the eye. Traveling by air is also not an option as the changes in pressure can cause eye damage.

Remember that most of the patients are not worried about the process of doing the surgery, but the post-surgery effects it can cause. Although the removal of the gel will fix the problem for the macular hole, it heightens the risk of developing other eye problems such as cataract.

Common risks of this surgery include retinal detachment and infection or even high grades of cataract development. Infection and retinal detachment are treatable and cataracts can be removed once the eye has healed. However, most of the patients who went through several eye surgeries develop the types of cataract and eventually led to blindness and other serious eye defects.

These are just some of the things that we should know about eye treatments. There is always a complication in every surgery. The positive side of it might be clearer vision and removal of the defect. However, there are things that we cannot avoid such as the aftershocks, should I say.

After the surgery, it is very beneficial to follow the medications religiously and make sure that the recovery guidelines are being observed. In this way, we can lessen the greater risk of acquiring other complicated eye defects that might lead us to total loss of vision.

by

Florida is a lovely place where fine climate and many amenities are provided; therefore, people living there feel rather comfortable and the age of the average Floridian is older than almost anywhere else in the U.S. Breathing fresh air and embarking healthy activities everyday, Floridian seem to be far away from diseases. Nevertheless, macular degeneration, a common eye diseases among senior citizens, fifty and beyond, keep them from enjoying their Florida retirement to its fullest.

Macular degeneration is always age related, therefore, it is usually referred as AMD.It can be concluded from its name easily that it is a weakening of the macula. The sufferers would feel hard to view objects in center, but there is no problem in viewing those in periphery. What’s more, objects directly in front become blurry and out-of-focus. As a result, it would seriously affect the patients’ normal lives.

There are two types of macular degeneration, the wet one and dry one.

The dry macular degeneration is more common than the wet one, which occurs in about 10% of cases. The former is chronic, the slow deterioration of the macula, while the latter is caused by an abnormal build-up of blood-vessels in the eye. The rate of blindness of the latter one is of high possibility.

When encountering those conditions, specialists in Florida would advice their patients to keep a healthy diet. Spinach, kale, collard greens and other dark, leafy green vegetables are recommended. Some salt-water fish such as cod or salmon are also advisable, because they are rich in omega-3 fatty acids which performs well in AMD prevention. Besides, some health products, such as antioxidant vitamins and minerals containing zinc, are candidates for the prevention.

However, they should be taken under the guidance of a doctor. Never take them as you wish and like.

Actually, prevention is better than treatment, which means that when one enters 50s, they should pay attention to their diets and learn about risk factors concerned, for a small bad habit may constitute an incentive triggering macular degeneration. Therefore, keeping yourself from tobacco and alcohol is necessary, besides, regular eye examinations is helpful as well.

Related Articles:

Causes and treatments for macular degeneration

New discoveries of macular degeneration

by

The number of people who want a treatment for a Macular degeneration is very high nowadays. Research says that almost every people have the consciousness for the sickness and thus, they are able to come for an early treatment. On the other hand, the disease is also increasing its roots among a large number of people. The macular degeneration is medically known as age-related macular degeneration or ARMD. Currently, it is also known as SMD or senile macular degeneration. The disease infects the macula, which is an important section of the retina. This is related to the central vision. The central vision is what we see directly. Many times, the disease leads to a permanent loss of vision. The disease can occur due to so many reasons like age, sex, environmental factors, obesity, smoking, pigmentation, the color of the iris etc.

The Macular degeneration symptoms include a blurred eye and a decrease in the central section and a coldness in the vision. In an initial stage, many patients ignore the vision problem and thus the condition goes worsen in a final stage. The person will also have scotomas and blind spots. It indicates a severe loss in the macular function. The straight lines inside the eyes may appear bent; this is medically known as metamorphopsia. Thus, the person suffering with the illness can see a same object in a different color and different shape. The Macula will also have swelling. Many times the patient looks the big object as small one when suffering with the infection.

The other type of Glaucoma is named as narrow angle glaucoma. This is also a major type of Glaucoma, which occurs with as a harassment of sudden eye pain and an increased pressure. The disease can affect the people of any and every age group. The patients eyes can look very red. The eyes can also have holes, especially, around the bright lights. The disease can also result in headache and vomiting. Some people are also born with narrow angles of blood circulation.

This eye sickness is tested through a Tonometry. This test recognizes the force inside the eyes. The physical experts use many types of tonometers. The other test is known as Pahcymetry. This is actually a new type of method to diagnose the thickness of the cornea. Before the test, the doctors insert some drops inside the eyes. Then, he gives a slight touch to the frontal surface of the eyes or cornea. The physical experts also check the visual fields. The other test is known as Ophthalmoscopy. In this test, the doctors utilize an equipment to look on to the pupil directly. Some medications like Timonol, Metipranolol and Carteolol are some of those medications that are given as an oral intake. The drops named as Adrenergic agonists have apraclonidine and dipivefrin in its family. The others are Carbonic anhydrase inhibitors eye drops. This includes brinzolamide and Dorzolamide in its group. Parasympathomimetic agents are also in the group of medicines. The drops that are in the family are isoflurophate, echothiophate, demecarium and Pilocarpine. If the patient is suffering with a sudden occurrence of narrow angle glaucoma, the physical experts usually suggest the Osmotic agents.

Incoming search terms:

• initial worsening symptoms of taking astragalus