Question: What is Geographic Atrophy?
Answer: There are stages of AMD: early dry (everyone starts at that stage even if not diagnosed them), intermediate AMD, and advanced AMD which is either advanced dry which is geographic atrophy (GA) and/or wet AMD. A few things to clarify:
- Although it is rare, a person can have both wet and GA in the same eye.
- Not everyone progresses to an advanced stage. 85-90% of all people with AMD have the early or intermediate dry form.
- Although they all have the word ‘dry’ in them, progression is not necessarily from early to intermediate to advanced dry AMD. The progression CAN be from early dry to intermediate dry. Not everyone progresses beyond that.
- It’s called ‘geographic’ because when the eye doctor looks at the retina, there are often what looks like ‘islands’ of damaged macular cells.
The Science of AMD
One of the best websites I’ve found is called The Science of AMD.
If you scroll/move down the page, you’ll find a section about Geographic Atrophy. This site gives you the ability to hear the text (convert text to speech) if you select the speaker icon in the upper right of any section.
I recommend that you take the time to explore this site.
Other Resources
Living With GA
Living With GA
My friend of 40+ years Sue has had geographic atrophy for over 6 years. That means she has a blind spot in each eye and is legally blind. She has always led an active life and that hasn’t changed any. At 69, she works as a psychologist, attends multiple exercise classes, kayaks, skis, rides her bike, walks her 2 boisterous dogs…you name it, she does it. The only thing that she does not do that she did ‘before’ is drive. That hasn’t stopped her from going places and doing things.
I’ll let her tell you about living with Geographic Atrophy: “I am not a victim. I have had geographic atrophy (dry age-related macular degeneration) for over 6 years but it has not destroyed my life. It has not destroyed me. Nothing is in ruins and I am not suffering.”
Her story continues at ‘Living With Geographic Atrophy.’
She was enrolled in the phase 3 clinical trial for a drug then called APL-2, now called Pegcetacoplan. At the end of that trial, she was enrolled in the long-term study of the drug which will show the safety and effectiveness of it over a 3 year period. You can read about that and also about her plan to find a stem cell clinical trial! ‘My Diabolical Plan: Stem Cell Transplant for Dry AMD.’
You can read about the early days of her journey on our site ‘My Macular Degeneration Journey/Journal.’ In 2019, she started to write for the site maculardegeneration.net where you can read her articles.