What are the different types of macular degeneration?
There are two types of the disease: dry macular degeneration and wet macular degeneration. Dry macular degeneration Ninety percent of people who have macular degeneration have the dry form of the condition. In dry macular degeneration, waste products may accumulate in the tissues underneath the macula forming yellowish deposits called drusen. The continued presence of drusen interferes with the blood flow to the retina and, in particular, to the macula. Less blood flow reduces the nourishment to the macula causing its light sensitive cells to stop working efficiently, or atrophy. You will sometimes hear dry macular degeneration referred to as atrophic macular degeneration. Occasionally, a large area of cells will stop working. This is called geographic atrophy, which produces a distorted or blind spot, also known as a scotoma, in the central area of vision. People who have dry macular degeneration may experience a gradual loss of detail vision. Wet macular degeneration Though the wet f
There are two stages of ARMD. Early macular degeneration is far more common, but late ARMD has a far greater impact on vision. Early macular degeneration is characterized by tiny clusters of soft, plaque-like deposits called drusen. Early ARMD progresses slowly and the central vision typically remains intact. Early disease can advance to late ARMD. Late ARMD can be subdivided into the dry, or non-neovascular form, and the wet, or neovascular form. Dry ARMD is characterized by more extensive pigmentary abnormalities in the macula and by a somewhat extensive loss of pigment cells and vision cells in the central macula. It is called dry because it is not associated with abnormal blood vessels or leakage of blood or fluid. Wet ARMD occurs in about 10% of patients who have late disease. It is characterized by an overgrowth of blood vessels just behind the macula. These abnormal blood vessels, technically described as choroidal neovascularization, leak blood or fluid or both into the macular
There are two types of the disease: dry macular degeneration and wet macular degeneration. Dry macular degeneration Ninety percent of people who have macular degeneration have the dry form of the condition. In dry macular degeneration, waste products may accumulate in the tissues underneath the macula forming yellowish deposits called drusen. The continued presence of drusen interferes with the blood flow to the retina and, in particular, to the macula. Less blood flow reduces the nourishment to the macula causing its light sensitive cells to stop working efficiently, or atrophy. You will sometimes hear dry macular degeneration referred to as atrophic macular degeneration. Occasionally, a large area of cells will stop working. This is called geographic atrophy, which produces a distorted or blind spot, also known as a scotoma, in the central area of vision. People who have dry macular degeneration may experience a gradual loss of detail vision. Wet macular degeneration Though the wet f
