Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD)

Introduction
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a painless progressive eye condition that usually leads to the loss of central vision (what is directly in front of you) but sometimes cause a rapid reduction in vision. AMD usually occurs at the age of 55 and involves many genetic and environmental factors. With AMD straight lines may look distorted and you may your eyes may become sensitive to shapes and lights that aren't actually there.
AMD can be divided into two types, dry and wet. Wet AMD is a later stage of AMD which is found to be more severe:
Dry AMD
Dry AMD, which is the earlier and milder stage of AMD, makes 85% to 90% of AMD cases. AMD occurs when an accumulation of drusen (small, white-yellow, fatty deposits called drusen) …show more content…
Sometimes abnormal new blood vessels form (choroidal neovascularisation).

Wet AMD
Wet, AMD is caused by choroidal neovascularisation (CNV), under the macula. The vessels leak fluid and blood into the tissue at the back of the eye, causing a blister to form in the retina. Scar tissue forms causing vision to be distorted and soon after central vision is lost.
Wet AMD can damage the macula quite rapidly and central vision can be lost quickly. Wet AMD may only make up only 10 – 15% of AMD cases; however severity of vision loss is significantly greater. Wet AMD is responsible for 90% of cases of severe vision loss associated with AMD [1].
Classic AMD
In wet AMD the condition can be defined as “classic” or “occult”. In classic CNV, the leaking blood vessels can be seen clearly. In the occult form, it is not possible to see the leaking vessels.
Epidemiology
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of visual impairment among older adults in the developed world [2]. Roughly a quarter of a million older adults in the UK are blind due to wet AMD …show more content…
It concluded that there are likely to be more than half a million people in the UK today living with late-stage AMD or are likely to have begun to lose vision. The research suggests that 40,000 people a year develop wet AMD. This is significantly higher than what was found by the NHS and NICE, which estimated 26,000 new cases a year, which is just less than half than the researched suggests. Roughly 1 in 2000 has AMD at age 60 but the chance is higher at 1 in 5 by the age of 90. The researchers estimate that by 2020 650,000 people in the UK may have advanced AMD

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