Age-related macular degeneration

From WikiCover

AMD stands for age-related macular degeneration.

AMD causes central visual loss and is the leading cause of blindness for people over the age of sixty. The U.S. National Eye Institute estimates that there are 1.8 million people with AMD in the United States and that this prevalence will grow to three million by 2020. When AMD occurs it is categorized into dry or wet forms.

The dry form is associated with changes in Bruch's membrane that lead to atrophic cell death of the central retina or macula, which is required for fine vision used for activities such as reading, driving or recognizing faces. The wet form is caused by growth of abnormal blood vessels under the macula, also known as choroidal neovascularization (CNV) or ocular angiogenesis. These vessels are of poor quality and tend to leak fluid and blood and cause scar tissue that destroys the central retina. This results in a deterioration of sight over time.