New Treatment For Macular Degeneration Disease
Dry Age Related Macular Degeneration (ARMD) cannot really be treated. However, new treatment for Macular Degeneration is being tried everyday in the hopes of eventually finding a cure. About the only options you have (for dry
(ARMD) are to take a variety of supplements including copper, beta-carotene, zinc, antioxidants and vitamins to slow its progress. The other more severe form of the disease, wet ARMD, can’t be cured but there are some treatment options available.
Wet ARMD progresses to the advanced stage of the disease very quickly and doctors try a variety of methods in an attempt to slow it down a bit. The disease appears when blood vessels start to leak behind the eye. Laser surgery is sometimes used to destroy these abnormal vessels. Photodynamic treatment is also used to treat the wet stage of ARMD. With this treatment method, a drug is injected and a light activates the drug to destroy the leaking vessels. This form of the disease can also be treated with certain medications in combination with anti-VEGF and anti-angiogenesis therapy. Ophthalmologists also prescribe special eyeglass lenses and eye exercises that help supplement any vision that is remaining.
To diagnose ARMD, the doctor will perform a variety of tests to make certain that it is the disease that you truly have. The tests are performed routinely in people over the age of 60 because this is the time that the disease generally starts to appear. Your doctor may use an Amsler grid to determine the extent of your vision loss. He or she will most likely put drops into your eyes to enlarge your pupils. After your eyes are fully dilated, your doctor will look closely at your retina and optic nerve to see if there are any abnormalities. At the same time, your doctor will take a look at the surrounding blood vessels and membrane and look for changes in them. Any yellow deposits (called drusen) that are found during the exam may signal dry macular degeneration. Other tests that your doctor may perform are OCT (Optical Coherence Tomography) and Fluorescein Angiogram.
Diagnosis and using a new treatment for Macular Degeneration is sometimes an option that your doctor will recommend. Innovative techniques are being discovered everyday in an effort to help older individuals see as well as the younger generation.
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