What is age-related macular degeneration?

Sometimes described as a "disease of civilization," age-related macular degeneration, or AMD, is happens when the cells in the macula deteriorate. Since it usually occurs in older people, it is commonly known as age-related macular degeneration.

• Luckily, retinal changes can be seen in an eye examination long before vision is impaired, so regular eye exams could save your sight.
• And there is plenty you can do to protect your eyes from AMD, from stopping smoking to getting regular exercise and adopting a healthier diet.

• Left untreated, AMD will result in the gradual loss of your central vision — making detailed work much more difficult — and the loss of colour vision.
• Experiencing the loss of colour vision is likened by some people to watching the colours fade in an old photograph. It does not cause total blindness, because your peripheral vision is unaffected.
• This means that you can still get around independently, but you will eventually lose the ability to read, write and drive a motor vehicle.
• Like many eye conditions, AMD is painless. It usually affects both eyes, although one may be affected long before the other.
• Since the "good" eye compensates for the failing one, AMD can remain undetected for years.
• The trouble is, that by the time you become aware of deteriorating sight, your chances of successful treatment have faded significantly.
• The earliest symptoms include difficulty focusing on detailed tasks such as reading or sewing, blurred vision, and what are in fact straight lines appearing wavy or fuzzy in the centre of your field of vision.
• Colours may look less bright, and it may be difficult to recognize small objects or distinguish faces straight ahead.
• Eventually, you may become aware of a blank patch or dark spot in the centre of your vision.

• Scientists don't yet know why some people get AMD and others don't, but they think that a mixture of genetic and environmental factors is involved.
• There is a higher risk in people with a family history of the condition, and there is an inherited form that affects children and young people called macular dystrophy.
• Some scientists think that free radicals — by-products of the metabolism of cells, which can damage DNA — may play a role in AMD.
• The intense metabolic activity in the macula produces lots of free radicals, and if these are not neutralized — by, for instance, antioxidant vitamins and minerals in foods — they could slowly damage the cells of the retina.
• This may also explain why sunlight and radiation seem to speed up macular decay.