New discoveries of macular degeneration

Friday, December 11th, 2009 at 3:44 pm Post in Eye Diseases

As hardened fats, trans-unsaturated fats are associated with heart diseases because they can raise levels of bad cholesterol and lower levels of good cholesterol. However, higher amounts of trans-unsaturated fats are also reported to increase the risk of age-related macular degeneration, according to the Archives of Ophthalmology. Lots of trans-unsaturated fats intake is suspected to be closely related with late AMD.

In the past, patients who had advanced macular degeneration in both eyes would receive injections of anti-VEGF in different days, which is very inconvenient for those who live far from the hospital. Doctors perform in this way because of potential risks. They think that bilateral injections impose extra burden on patients and possibly bring more risks if there is something wrong during the procedure. Now there is a study showing that bilateral injections and unilateral injections have no difference in risk. With separate trays of sterile instruments and drugs from different manufactures, the two eyes are not related to each other in getting infection or allergic action.

A study by Georgia Tech researchers pointed out that age-related macular degeneration can cause changes in the brain activity. Bothered by partially visual loss, AMD patients always see through edges of the remaining visual field. Volunteers participating in the study were asked to change their behavior and seeing ways. In the visual cortex of their brains, increased activities can be found, which explained that the brain can reorganize itself to compensate for vision loss caused by AMD.

As the baby boomer generation continues to age towards retirement, the number of age-related macular degeneration cases in America is estimated to reach 17.8 million in 2050, double of the current figure. Currently there are several treatments for macular degeneration. Vitamin prophylactic therapy and anti-vascular endothelial growth factor injections are effective treatments in slowing AMD progression. Without these treatments, people suffering visual impairment and blindness can be around 1.6 million in 2050.