Curing Macular Degeneration

There are two commonly occurring types of macular degeneration. One is "dry" macular and the other is "wet." macular. The National Eye Institute has found that around ninety percent of people who suffer from macular degeneration are known to have dry macular degeneration. This happens when the light-sensitive cells found in our macula begin to collapse due to this disease, causing a steady loss of our central vision slowly over the years. Dry macular degeneration takes place first in just one of our eyes, and might not necessarily affect our other eye at a later point in time. Though the chief cause of dry macular degeneration is still not known, we have also been unable to find a cure. No effective treatment is also available to stop the degenerative factor of the disease. At the same time, research has shown that consuming high doses of vitamins C, E, beta carotene, and zinc (along with copper) help in reducing risk for both types of AMD by upto 25 percent. This will help you in keeping the disease at bay.

If you feel that you could be at risk as far as developing advanced AMD is concerned, and you already suffer from transitional AMD, or have got advanced AMD in either or both eyes, you should consult your health care professional about whether you need to take large doses of required vitamin and mineral supplements. The Age-Related Eye Disease Study which is funded largely by The National Eye Institute, tracked around 3,640 patients with at least basic AMD for more than five years. Patients who had developed high risk for advanced AMD, that is, those who already had intermediate AMD in conjunction with advanced AMD in a single eye, were shown to reduce their chances of getting to the advanced stages of AMD by a whopping twenty-five percent when they consumed daily doses of antioxidant and mineral supplements which contained at least 500 mg of vitamin C, 400 mg of vitamin E, 15 mg of beta-carotene, 80 mg of zinc (in the form of zinc oxide) and 2 mg of copper (in the form of cupric oxide). This preparation is not recommended for consumption by smokers, and patients should always consult their own health care professional or physician before they begin consuming any supplements.

It has been seen that it is possible to treat a few cases of wet type of age-related macular degeneration using thermal laser surgery or photodynamic laser therapy, though vision that has been lost cannot be regained. These forms of treatment slow down the rate of loss of vision, and can help you maintain primary sight for a longer period of time. For these treatments to be more effective, it is imperative that your wet AMD condition is caught early enough, before it has spread to a section of your macula where treatment cannot be given.

It is important to note that laser treatment tends to work best when your leaking blood vessels haven't grown below your macula.