Tag: geographic atrophy

Hindsight is 20/20

Good evening! How are you all?

Lin has noticed I seem to have written soooo many pages they are overwhelming and confusing some people. She feels this is particularly true for some of the newbies who probably feel like they have walked in on the (boring and confusing) middle of a movie. [Lin/Linda: to be clear, those are Sue’s words! ::grin::]

Understood. Some of you are back in the shock and doom phrase and I am talking about getting newspapers on your phones and other trivial matters. Who wants to hear about that sort of thing while your world is unraveling?

In the interest of pointing you towards something that might actually be helpful, Lin is republishing some earlier pages for your attention and discussion. And I – always helpful – am going to add to the confusion by writing another page!?

This page will have a catchy title thanks to Lin, but right now I am going to call it “What I know now that I wish I had known a year and a half ago”.

First, you are not going everything black and dark blind.

It is not good but neither is it quite that bad. You are losing central vision. Things will not be good for anywhere from about 15 to 60 degrees of arc. Since normal visual fields are 170 or so degrees of arc, you have the potential to lose about a third of your vision. Not anything to cheer about but better than 100%.

You may not be doomed to progress to end stage AMD.

About 15% of patients become ‘wet’. About 15% progress to geographic atrophy. That means you – starting out with drusen and a diagnosis of early AMD – have a 85% chance of dodging the proverbial bullet for end stage AMD. You may very well not get as bad as I am and a year and a half after my second eye went to hell, I am still functional. [Lin/Linda: a person can have both wet AMD and geographic atrophy in the same eye.  I don’t what that does to the %, if anything.]

You did not cause this.

Yes, AMD is caused but it was not caused by anything you did or did not do. The causes are in your genes. This is a heritable disease. There are dozens if not hundreds of genes that are being investigated to try to figure out how AMD is created. It appears AMD may just be the result of a genetic ‘perfect storm’ and there is no one to blame.

There may come a time you are seeing things.

I saw some odd stuff when my brain was working overtime to assign meaning to the faulty images my eyes were sending it. You are not psychotic (I hope you are not psychotic). This is Charles Bonnet Syndrome. When your brain gives up trying to assign meaning to false signals you will stop seeing weird ‘stuff’. In the meantime, enjoy the fantasy.

Point number last: There is an amazing amount of hope for treatment and eventually a cure for AMD.

Research is going on everyday. New discoveries are announced with regularity. The medical community is hot on the trail of something that will arrest the progression and may even reverse this disease. All we have to do is hold on.

OK. Those were my biggie when I first lost my second eye. What are you worried about? Please share and we can discuss it. Continue reading “Hindsight is 20/20”

Shimmering

Albert Einstein once said “the more I learn, the more I realize what I don’t know.” Apparently I am in good company, because I feel the same way.

With no immediate crises in my life and no immediate reason to freak out – and even with geographic atrophy and permanent retina damage, this state of affairs is possible! – I have been trying to get caught up with some research. I keep running into things I have no knowledge or understanding of.

Lin suggested that after over a year we should know SOMETHING about these things. We don’t. For example, I am still clueless about what I can expect concerning the progression of density of my ‘blind spots’.

And speaking of disease progression, (was that a smooth segue or was that a smooth segue??), I do have a couple of things to say about disease progression from that last article I read. Remember the one on GA?

The article opined all the new interest and hoopla about dry AMD came from the success with treating wet. However it wasn’t why I would think. You know, we have scaled that mountain and are looking for new summits sort of thing? Nope, the reason was they discovered that even after severely limiting the development of neovascularization in eyes, the eyes just kept right on progressing with dry AMD! Sorry, darlings.? It seems a former wet AMD eye becomes a dry AMD eye.

And dry AMD – to my great chagrin – progresses. How much? I assume it can take the entire macula but I have not seen that definitely stated anywhere. I have seen it stated that it generally stops with the macula. Maybe not such a ‘small’ favor. Could be a lot worse.

The last thing I learned from that article is how best to document disease progression. That is with something called cSLO FAF. Isn’t that informative? Exciting even!

OK, OK, just ‘funning’ with you. I looked it up. Fundus autofluorescence is diagnostic imagery. It detects fluorophores in the retina. Fluorophores being chemicals that re-emit lights shone at them. Research quoted by Wu in Use of Fundus Autofluorescence in AMD said risk of wet AMD can be predicted by a patchy reflection pattern and lots of ‘shimmer’ (my word) at the edge of a patch of geographic atrophy is predictive of cell death and growth of the GA. The more ‘shimmer’ the worse the trouble you are in. [Lin/Linda: We hadn’t had a music reference for some time.  When I hear the word ‘shimmer’, I think of John Lennon’s song “Julia” which uses the word ‘shimmering’, hence this page’s title. ::smile::]

So if anyone throws a bunch of letters ending with FAF at you and says you are going to have that, it may be they are checking for disease progression. I cannot remember ever having one, but it is noninvasive so no biggie. Should not hurt. Just more pretty pictures. Hopefully they will find something good.

Pretty much it for now. Will probably write some more nonsense between now and then, but Wednesday I am going to another support group meeting. They are demonstrating an electronic monocular called a Mojo and I want to see it. Will let you know!

Chat with you later!

 

written May 6th, 2o17 Continue reading “Shimmering”

Islands of Damage

I have got about 45 minutes before I need to get ready to walk and go to yoga. Had to go to my third job today, just for the half day. My husband took me up and did errands for the morning, then we went to lunch and picked up my framed photos for the contest in the fall. I am four months ahead of the game but I had to pay extra to get them done on time once before. Not doing that again.

Lin gave me an article entitled “The Journey of ‘Geographic Atrophy’ through Past, Present and Future”. Started reading it …finally… today. First thing I read is GA is ‘end stage’ dry AMD.

I knew it was advanced AMD but never gave a lot of thought to it being end stage. Does ‘end stage’ just mean the last stage or does it mean I have almost reached the end of the deterioration? Need to read on.

There is depigmentation of the cells This is a problem because it is the building up and depletion of pigment that allows us to see. In GA you can get to look in and see choroid blood vessels with no difficulty, as well.

I have seen images of my blood vessels in my choroid. Nothing between them and the camera. Essential, my choroid posed naked.?

The article said seeing the degree of degeneration even with the new technology is difficult. That is apparently why my retinologist saw no change in my scans even though I was perceiving an increase in density of my left scotoma.

The article also said there is high variability in the location, number and shape of individual lesions. The makes sense considering my blurry spot is up and right when looking at the Amsler Grid and my ‘sweet spot’ for eccentric viewing is lower and a little to the left. In other words if I center my poor, wrecked fovea at 1 or 2 on the clock face, I can see things between 9 and 3, courtesy of my ‘sweet spot’. Other people are different, of course. Putting each fovea on the center of the Amsler grid and seeing what blurs out can help you chart your scotomata. Then, learn to work around them.

I am not sure if this is good or bad. Exception in a limited number of cases, the fovea is spared until the end. Does that mean I am actually more abnormal than I have always believed or does it mean I am at the end of the process? Dunno.

See why I feel like a mushroom???? Jeez. Need information here!

Geographic? It appears early researchers (and by ‘early’ I am referring to the 1970s! Research and discoveries are traveling at light speed and there is no reason to lose hope something else helpful will be discovered soon) thought the sharp demarcation of lesions like ours looked liked borders of islands and continents as drawn on a map. That is where geographical came from. We have islands of damage in seas of healthy tissue.

Ok. Gotta run. There is lots more in the article though. Will let you know. Continue reading “Islands of Damage”

Always Learning More

Hey, there! I think I have found a good article on macular degeneration, our favorite but somewhat distasteful topic. The article is in Webvision and is entitled Age-Related Macular Degeneration. Another catchy title. The main author is Hageman.

Did you know the name up until around 1990 was ‘senile macular degeneration’? Makes it sound like our eyes have lost some of their mental faculties. Glad that was changed!

Also discovered the fovea is the center of the macula. It contains the highest concentration of cone photoreceptors and is the only region of the retina that can attain 20/20 vision.

I think when my optometrist said I had such an abrupt vision loss because the deterioration had reached the center of my macula she was talking about the loss of my fovea. That means 20/20 vision is no longer possible for me. Even if I use prisms or eventually get that eye max mono thingee, things will not be ‘perfect’. [Lin/Linda: she means the EyeMax Mono lens implant.]

This article says macular vision is 10% of vision! Estimates of degrees of arc of potential loss seem to be getting better, but don’t get too excited. Remember we are talking my interpretation of things I read. It is guess-work. I know nothing.

Although I used to think hard drusen sound more ominous than soft ones, it is actually the other way around. Hard drusen are smaller and soft ones are larger. If they are looking in your eyes and mention soft drusen, you have more of a problem than if they see hard drusen.

I thought that all dry AMD would progress to GA (geographic atrophy) if the person lived that long. This article says only 10 to 15% of dry AMD patients progress rapidly enough to ‘achieve’ GA. Interesting.

That means my visual state is something many of you will not have to experience. That is a good thing! And FYI? I am functional so you can remain functional as well.

For you ‘wet’ folks, the article once again cautions you to stay on top of things and get your shots. Left to its own devices wet AMD progresses to a cicatrical stage. Cicatrix is a fancy word related to scars and scarring. Disciform scars occur when fibrous tissues develop in Bruch’s membrane between the RPEs and the retina. Scarring is, needless to say, not good and can result in severe vision loss. Bottom line for this paragraph is: do not allow bleeds to happen to you!

Closing in on my 500 words and I still have pages to read in this article. I think I will close this page, read some more and start another.

And FYI, I emailed by doctor. And – while he also believes the increased density/opacity of my blind spot is related to expected disease progression – I am going in for a vision screen in two days. Perceivable changes in your vision? I expect you to call, too. Check it out.

written April 25th, 2017

Continue reading “Always Learning More”

Biochemistry Redux

Doxycycline and I have a ‘history’. Not totally a good one. Doxy is the medication given prophylactically when you are bit by a tick. Some doctors recognize waiting for the red ‘bull’s eye’ of Lyme disease before treatment may not be a good idea; others don’t.

The second time I was tick bit I had a doctor that gave me the doxy as a precaution. The first time I was bit I had a doctor who withheld it.

Having some clue of what can happen to a body that has contracted Lyme’s, I was livid. Fortunately – or unfortunately – I had access to about half a vial of veterinary doxy. See it coming?

Do not try this at home! I took the doggie doxy and apparently took a little too much. Doxycycline produces photosensitivity. I won’t bore you with the chemistry (I researched it at the time), but suffice it to say, the molecular structure of doxy is such that it will store light energy and release it over time. You ‘sunburn’ from the inside out! Don’t need a reference for this. This is personal experience talking. I had second degree sunburn in about a half an hour.

The moral of that story is avoid doggy doxy. Once more I am the star of a cautionary tale. Oy vey!

But the reason I even mention doxy and our conflicted relationship is this: Oracea is doxycycline and it is being researched as treatment for geographic atrophy. There may be hope for my relationship with doxy yet!

According to the good people at Medscape (3/12/17) doxy is being researched as a method of treating low-grade inflammation resulting from alternative complementary pathway activity in geographic atrophy.

The alternative complementary immune system in me is ‘the gang that couldn’t shoot straight’. My good cells are being taken out by ‘friendly fire’. Reducing the effects of the alternative complementary immune system in me would be a good thing. [Lin/Linda: Sue’s referring to what she found out from a genetic test she had. Click here to read more about this.]

The Medscape article veers into uncharted waters for me but I will attempt to translate. It appears doxy can interfere with some of the molecular pathways – read series of actions that are supposed to produce something – that end up creating the conditions that lead to geographic atrophy. It lists oxygen species, matrix metalloproteinase, caspase activation, cytokine production and complement activation. Oh, good grief! Social scientist here! Never took biochemistry.

According to Wikipedia, reactive oxygen species are a normal byproduct of the metabolism of oxygen. In times of environmental stress on the cells, levels can build. It ties in with oxidative stress.

Matrix metalloproteinase are enzymes that break down matrix proteins (don’t ask because I don’t know!). Caspases are enzymes having to do with programmed cell death and cytokines are used by cells to send messages to other cells.

Did I mention I am not a biochemist? Don’t understand it except to say it all – magically! – has something to do with causing divots in maculas. Doxy is supposed to, maybe, could be, slow it down.

Clinical trials of doxycycline – under the brand name of Oracea – are underway. Check clinicaltrials.gov for locations near you. I doubt they would give you too much, but just the same, try to stay out of the sun! Continue reading “Biochemistry Redux”

Good Thought, Bad Thought

Back again in the same day. You do know I am ridiculously hard to get rid of; don’t you??

This is the page I was going to write before my ZoomText, inelegantly put, took a dump. Now I will write it.

I went to see my local retinologist Monday. Great guy. He is good. His kids are good. I feel I see him enough I get to inquire about the boys.

I also feel like I am becoming ‘friends’ with my tomography tech. We chat. I asked about the enhanced depth tomography. He had the capability with his machine and since it would not cost any extra, he ran it on me. The pictures were pretty. I saw my optic nerve and my ‘divot’, geographic atrophy, but did not have the training to see much else.

The tomography tech pointed out two veins in my choroid. They were old veins, not new ones. It is sort of bizarre to realize how relatively deep the hole is in my macula, but that is a part of the definition of geographic atrophy; the damage is choroid deep.

Neither my local retinologist nor I believe I will convert to wet AMD. He has put me back to twice yearly for my check-ups. It was my understanding, and my retinologist confirmed, that wet developed as an adaptation (sort of) to the dry form of AMD.

The way I understand it, when the RPEs and the photoreceptors are not getting enough oxygen and nutrients they send out the SOS . They need supplies! They are starving! The body responds by establishing new supply lines in the form of new blood vessels. The only problem is these vessels are inferior. They break and the bleed. Problem not solved. The fix does not work so well.

I got the impression I am back to twice yearly visits – and he does not think I am a candidate for wet AMD – because I don’t have a lot of macula left. Now he did not say that. It was an impression but I am usually pretty good at those. I don’t think there is much for my body to try to save anymore.

Good thought and bad thought. Or actually bad thought and good thought. Bad thought that I may have reached this level so quickly. Good thought: could the slide be over? Will I soon stop losing vision?

Now, cheating my sweet little patootie off and using eccentric viewing and guess work to the max, my vision tests as 20/50. Am I really 20/50? No, but I cheat well. And they know I cheat, by the way. I tell them every time.

If I can cheat and test at 20/50, that means I have decent functional vision. I can do a lot with that. Not so bad.

So why all the horror pictures of visual fields that are 90% bleach white with decent vision around the edge? If this is a ‘central vision loss’ problem, what is the definition of central vision?

No clue, but Lin and I are on the hunt. Let ya know. Continue reading “Good Thought, Bad Thought”

Kids and Zombies

This page is going to be another mixed up affair. I don’t have a full page on either of a couple of totally unrelated topics. Hope you don’t mind if I cobble them together.

First thought: I have talked about loving my big people and have not said anything  about my little people. Let me correct that.   I love my kids!

We may have an exceptionally tolerant and loving group of kids at our school, but I don’t think so. I think kids are just naturally adaptable and loving. It is the nature of the beast.

Anyway, my kids are wonderful. They take my telescopic glasses and CCTV in stride and think they are cool. My disability? Yeah, she doesn’t see well. What else is new? So what? Can we move on now?

The other day I was waiting for my ride, sitting in the office with all my gear. A little girl about seven was waiting for her mother. The little girl asked about my stuff and I first told her I have an ‘old lady’ eye disease. I think I am going to take this little darling home with me! Her response was “you are not an old lady!”

Then I told her I used the equipment to help me so I could continue to work with the kids at school just like I like. Her response? “Thank you”. OMG. I love my kids.

Second topic: Back to stem cells. Lin gave me an investment article. It was dated July, 2016. Mark Collins writing for marketexclusive.com suggested people invest in….drum roll, please….Astellas Pharma!

For those of you who just walked in, this is the company sponsoring one of the stem cell trials I am signed up for. I am thrilled to hear that this company is being touted as a good investment opportunity. It means the company is seen as a moneymaker. And how are they going to make money? By bringing the stem cell treatment to market, that is how!

Collins cautions this is a somewhat long-term investment. It may be two or three years until the product is brought to market, but the financial analysts are very positive about its future.

I am signed up for phase 2 clinical trials. If Collins is accurate in saying they should come to market by 2020, phases 2, 3 and 4 will have to come about in pretty short order. Good.

One more quick note: please remember RPE stem cells may stabilize vision. That means things won’t get worse but they won’t get better either. There is a bigger maybe for restoring some vision. Subjects in phase 1 got a few letters (not lines) on the eye chart back. RPE stem cells do not cure AMD.

Geographic atrophy, aka advanced dry AMD, means I have dead photoreceptors. Dead is dead. No zombies are produced in this procedure. That means it is not a cure. They are working on a cure but it is not expected for at least 10 years.

[For a review of what RPEs and photoreceptors do, see Sue’s page The Science Stuff.]

As always, I often do not know what I am talking about, so please check the stock tip with your broker….but if you make a billion dollars? Remember me! ? Continue reading “Kids and Zombies”

Wintry Mix

It was a rather sloppy, cold day today. We had what the weather services refer to as a wintry mix. My ride to exercise classes decided she did not want to go out in the mess. Understandable, especially since I landed flat on my back twice at the dog park. Ice under the snow and I walk with a heel strike. Heel down and whoopsie! Yet another reason I need to keep exercising, though.

Being in decent shape, I tend to bounce and not break. Fortunately there was no one nearby to hear the crazy old lady cursing and laughing at herself as she lay in the snow….twice.

Anyway, I ramble. Not a bad day. We took the recycling and went for pizza. Took Beastie Baby to the dog park. I finished a short report for work and I am now – gasp- cooking. You know I have run out of things I even remotely enjoy when I get domestic.

I could be willful. I could get all pissy and declare if there is nothing I want to do to do, I will do nothing! That will get me nowhere but miserable. Problem is, I am stuck in the house with myself! It is after dark and we are now getting freezing rain. I need to be willing to entertain myself with what is available.

I am lousy company even for myself when I am bored and miserable. Willingness as opposed to willfulness needs to be the choice.

And while things are in the oven, I am reading an article Lin sent me. When I was a teen, our family doctor thought I should go to medical school. Maybe if I had done that, I could actually decipher this thing!

The Saudis wrote this article, Update on clinical trials in dry Age-related Macular Degeneration. It is a review of the research up until November, 2015. The abstract says none of the biologically-oriented therapies have resulted in vision improvement, although I would say some of them probably slow the deterioration process. It also says the stem cell studies show promise. Yippee! That means if I hope to exceed my basic goal of stopping the progress of the disease, I have chosen well. (If this is the first of my pages you have read, I am applying to two stem cell studies.)

I have picked up a couple of facts from the article. Geographical atrophy – the divot where my photoreceptors used to be – is “sharply delineated” and by definition at least 175 microns. I assume that is across. 175 microns is .00689 inches. That is a tiny little space to be causing all these problems! The divot also needs to be deep enough to show the blood vessels in the choroid.

I also found out that hard drusen are a sign of normal aging. It is the soft drusen that are the troublemakers. There are all sorts of other drusen, too. It all appears rather complicated. [Lin/Linda here: click here for my post about drusen.]

I will try to be willing and slog through the rest of this article. It is informative, just over my head. Let you know if I learn anything.

written 12/17/2016

Continue reading “Wintry Mix”

The Waiting Game

Yesterday was my third appointment with Regillo. Quite frankly I was hoping for great things. Hoping I would get a definitive answer and it would be positive! No such luck. My ‘answer’ was another “maybe”.

What criteria are they using? No clue. I was told my eye condition certainly qualifies me. Beyond that, I got no inkling of what I need to do to move up the list.

After a year and a half, I am getting more and more frustrated and antsy. If there is a way to become a prime candidate, I don’t know what it is.

Anatomy of the eye-click on the image for more information

I did learn a few things. Contrary to what I read, the good doctor says everyone has a suprachoroidal space (SCS). [Lin/Linda here: the SCS is the space between the sclera (outer part of eye) and choroid (space below RPEs).  It’s important in both clinical studies Sue is referred to because both insert the stem cells into this space; more about the clinical trials below). Not sure why the difference between what I read and what he said. I know I read something about ‘forcing’ (my term) an SCS in guinea pig eyes. They did it by injecting saline solution between the appropriate layers. Maybe the difference is between having a space and having a medically useful space? I might be wrong but I got the impression the delivery system works better when there is fluid in the SCS. Maybe not. Anyway, everyone has one. I am just not sure if you need the fluid to accommodate the delivery system. If you really want to know, check with your eye doctor. I am still trying to piece this all together.

The next thing I found out was the Ocata/Astellas study may resurrect sooner than I was originally told. I had heard two years or more and now I am being told 2017. Sweet.

I was asked which one I preferred. The one I would prefer is the first one to come to fruition! I will be dancing in the streets to be asked to participate in either one of them.

So that is where I stand now. I have been given two strong maybes. Is that a guarantee I will get something or do two nothings equal nothing? It is driving me crazy!

So back to practicing my distress tolerance skills. I have to ACCEPTS my situation. Engage in activities and contribute to others. I have to compare my situation to those of others and be grateful; things could be worse. Doing things to laugh will help me to have opposite emotions and I can push away problems I cannot solve at present. I can also have pleasant thoughts and intense sensations that distract me from my frustrations. It can be done. I have done it for a year and a half. I can keep on.

written 12/16/2016

Continue reading “The Waiting Game”

Highlight: Dry Macular Degeneration Clinical Trials 1/7/2017

There is no current treatment for dry AMD.  There IS encouraging research and for those of us who subscribe to the newsletter from WebRN-MacularDegeneration, we just got a link to a page that discusses ‘a sampling’ of the studies including for those with geographic atrophy which is one of the advanced forms of AMD.   Several of the studies are looking for participants.

Click here to go to Dry Macular Degeneration Clinical Trials.  Number 3 is the study that Sue is waiting to participate in.

WebRN-MacularDegeneration is a great website & I recommend that you subscribe to the newsletter.

Highlight: Does wet AMD start as dry?

There are differing opinions and interpretations of what those in the field of macular degeneration have learned.  The links below certainly don’t represent all views, of course, but are an example of some of what you will find.

The important point is that it is CRITICAL to get your eyes examined as recommended by your doctor and to monitor your vision between exams. Click here to find out how to do that.

From: http://www.webrn-maculardegeneration.com/macular-degeneration-stages.html

“Advanced AMD is either a break-down of light sensitive cells and supporting tissue in the central retinal area (advanced dry form), or the development of abnormal and fragile blood vessels under the retina (wet form).”

From: https://www.macular.org/dry-vs-wet-macular-degeneration

“About ten percent of all cases of Age-related Macular Degeneration become “Wet” AMD (typically a person has dry AMD first and progresses toward wet).”

From: https://nei.nih.gov/health/maculardegen/armd_facts

“There are three stages of AMD defined in part by the size and number of drusen under the retina. It is possible to have AMD in one eye only, or to have one eye with a later stage of AMD than the other.

Early AMD. Early AMD is diagnosed by the presence of medium-sized drusen, which are about the width of an average human hair. People with early AMD typically do not have vision loss.

Intermediate AMD. People with intermediate AMD typically have large drusen, pigment changes in the retina, or both. Again, these changes can only be detected during an eye exam. Intermediate AMD may cause some vision loss, but most people will not experience any symptoms.

Late AMD. In addition to drusen, people with late AMD have vision loss from damage to the macula. There are two types of late AMD:

In geographic atrophy (also called dry AMD), there is a gradual breakdown of the light-sensitive cells in the macula that convey visual information to the brain, and of the supporting tissue beneath the macula. These changes cause vision loss.

In neovascular AMD (also called wet AMD), abnormal blood vessels grow underneath the retina. (“Neovascular” literally means “new vessels.”) These vessels can leak fluid and blood, which may lead to swelling and damage of the macula. The damage may be rapid and severe, unlike the more gradual course of geographic atrophy. It is possible to have both geographic atrophy and neovascular AMD in the same eye, and either condition can appear first.”

From: http://www.avruc.com/macular-degeneration.php

“The macula is the central part of the retina and allows us to read fine print clearly and see colors vividly. It is this area of the retina that deteriorates in ARMD. There are 2 forms of ARMD. Everyone who has macular degeneration starts out with the dry type and 20% progress to the wet type over the course of a lifetime. “

From: http://www.youreyes.org/eyehealth/macular-degeneration

“Can the dry form turn into the wet form?
Yes. All people who had wet form AMD had the dry form first. 

The dry form can advance and cause vision loss without turning into the wet form. The dry form also can suddenly turn into the wet form, even during early stage AMD. There is no way to tell if or when the dry form will turn into the wet form.

Can advanced AMD be either the dry form or the wet form?
Yes. Both the wet form and the advanced dry form are considered advanced AMD. Vision loss occurs with either form. In most cases, only advanced AMD can cause vision loss. 

People who have advanced AMD in one eye are at especially high risk of developing advanced AMD in the other eye.”

Please see your doctor for regular exams and between exams, check your vision at home.

I Am Not a Doctor

Commentary: Lin just sent me a post from someone in the Facebook group. She asked for my reactions. The person is claiming he completely reversed neovascular (wet) AMD with nutritional treatments. Here goes.

First the disclaimer. I am not a doctor. I am not a nutritionist. I am a woman with dry AMD who has tried to educate herself about her disorder. Therefore I do not, by any stretch of the imagination, have all of the answers. End of disclaimer.

That said, let me congratulate him on his greatly improved vision! I am glad he are doing well.

I know some of what he says is true. In general the diets of those in the developed world are atrocious. We should be eating many more fruits and vegetables, especially our leafy greens, than we do. The reason taking the AREDS/AREDS2 supplement works to slow the progression of the disease is probably our poor diets. If we ate well, the supplements would not be so needed. [Lin/Linda: I have to mention that there is some risk taking the AREDS or AREDS2 with 80mg zinc.  It can cause problems in the genitourinary tract but there is evidence that for people with certain genes, that high dose of zinc can cause their AMD to progress faster. Since not everyone has easy access to the genetic tests, there are supplements with no zinc or less zinc.  Check out this post for more information.]

Angiogenesis is the growth of new blood vessels. This is a hallmark of wet AMD. There is some evidence angiogenesis is part of the healing process and may be triggered by inflammation (Reiner O. Schlingemann in Role of Growth Factors and the Wound Healing Response in Age-Related Macular Degeneration). There is also evidence that retinal hypoxia (in English? Your retina is gasping for oxygen) is a trigger for angiogenesis and neovascular (wet) AMD. (Citation same guy. It is so nice not to have to follow APA format? [Lin/Linda: APA is the American Psychological Association and when you write something for them, you need to follow a very strict format for references to articles.]

That said, theoretically it is possible he hit upon a combination of nutrients that would reduce inflammation and increase oxygenation to his retina, thus somehow stopping the angiogenesis. Did this happen? No clue. I am just sort of a slightly-too-smart-for-my-own-good, visually impaired lady. (Gets me in a lot of trouble.) Is it possible? Sure. “There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophies.” (That is the bard, of course).

Now, it would be my supposition – again totally unfounded – he was not in advanced AMD and had not experienced much if any photoreceptor death i.e. geographic atrophy. Unfortunately from what I have been told dead is dead with those. They would not have come back.

That is pretty much my take on it. Again when it comes down to it, I know nothing but I have a helluva lot of opinions. Don’t believe me. Offer your opinions. What do you folks think? Continue reading “I Am Not a Doctor”

The Man Behind The Curtain: The Wizard of Wills

For a rock star of retinas, Regillo, was not all that imposing. I finally got to see the man after multiple tests by multiple technicians. Towards the end of the gauntlet, I asked the girl if everyone went through so many tests. She confided in me that many people do not get as far as I got. That was certainly encouraging. My inner voice had been telling me I was on the right track. The stars seem to be aligned. However, this was the first outside confirmation that I had chosen a good path.

I had chosen a good path. The stars seem to be aligned.

When the good doctor came into the room, I was studying the scans of my left eye–not quite sure why, but he appeared to be amused. Perhaps this was highly unusual behavior in a patient with Age-Related Macular Degeneration.

Regillo proceeded to challenge me to tell him what I saw. So I told him. The lower area was Bruch’s membrane. This membrane is the connection to the proverbial greater world. It brings nutrients to the RPEs and takes away the garbage. The level above that contained the RPEs. It also contained yellowish piles of eye poop more appropriately known as drusen. Level above that were the photoreceptors. The divot in the top was geographic atrophy and the reason I was there.I might have impressed him. After all, I am more than just an impaired eyeball.

I am more than just an impaired eyeball.

Strange, staccato, conversation followed. I told him I wanted to read the article on the phase 1 results when it came out. It was out and he gave me the citation. I told him I had every intention of being in phase 2. The conversation was a bit of a tennis match. At times we are even finishing each other sentences. I felt as if we were definitely on the same page.

Also, talking to the doctor I felt as if we were in a cat & mouse game and I was the mouse. He seemed overly interested. No, not that way, I felt like I was prey but in a professional, scientific way. It was like he had found a live one. After reading the phase 1 results that were published in Lancet last winter, I figured out why. The mean age of the cohort for the phase 1 study was 77 years of age. The team was planning on doing a 15 year longitudinal follow-up on the study. There was now no confusion in my head as to why Regillo was looking at me as if I were a live one. Hell, in 15 years, with subjects like that, I was going to be the only live one!

The mean age in the phase 1 study was 77 years of age. That means in the 15 years of the study, I was going to be the only live one!

Written February 2016. Reviewed September 2018.

Continue reading “The Man Behind The Curtain: The Wizard of Wills”

Resources

June 2023 There’s an announcement that since Sue has not written any new journal pages for some time, the site has been archived until we can decide if the work necessary to make sure all information is accurate and up-to-date can be made. In the meantime, you’ll get some pages ‘not found’ or ‘private’ until that decision has been made. The emphasis for several years has been on the Facebook group.

2/14/2022 Because of the rapid and constant growth of our Facebook group, I cannot keep this list updated.  I have a large amount of information available in the Facebook group in Guides which are like chapters in a book or lessons in a course. Plus, in 3 years, the amount of information in the posts and comments is quite substantial. I recommend that you join us there where you can get the information and the support to help you in your journey.  Thanks for understanding. Hope to see you there! Lin/Linda…
I’ve added some pages from that group that might be of interest to you.

Frequently Asked Questions

Click here for the list of Frequently Asked Questions from our Facebook group.

AREDS2-based Supplements

There are several pages on the site that explain what AREDS2 means and who the AREDS2-based products are for. Click here to go to a list of articles.

AREDS2-based Supplements With 0 or 25mg of Zinc

Click here for the list.

Navigating

There are a lot of links here.  I’ve set up this page so that when you click on a link (words that are underlined & in blue or green), a NEW tab will open in your browser and this page STAYS WHERE IT IS.  When you are done with the new page you opened, just close it.  You do NOT need to use the back option.  If you click on a link and the new page replaces this one, I’VE MADE A MISTAKE so please let me know by sending me an email at light2sight5153@gmail.com.  Let me know exactly which link or links do not open a new tab or window.

Errors: If you click on a link and you get a ‘page not found’ error, please let me know by sending me an email at light2sight5153@gmail.com.  Let me know exactly which link or links do not open a new tab or window.

Additions: If you have a link you’d like to add, please email at light2sight5153@gmail.com.

Topics-click below to move to a topic

Links We Like

  • Click here for a GREAT resource where you answer some simple questions and you get a customized guide based on your responses
  • Click here for a great glossary
  • Click here for Low Vision Resources: A List of Lists (such as 8 ways to slow AMD, 15 tips for family and friends, etc)
  • Videos
    • Click here for several videos
    • Click here for the UK Macular Society’s Say Hello to Mac
    • Click here for one that uses illustrations and animation (explains how wet AMD progresses and how the injections work)
  • Click here for a description of dry vs. wet AMD (we are not recommending any products in this article)
  • Click here for an article about depression after diagnosis
  • Click here for a very comprehensive page about wet AMD
  • Click here for a very comprehensive page about dry AMD
  • Click here for a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) that answers a long list of questions such as ‘will resting help my eyes?’, ‘Can I see for myself if my retina or macula shows any signs of damage before I have symptoms?’, ‘why don’t new eye glasses help?’, ‘what is meant by degeneration?’, ‘is a macular hole the same as macular degeneration’, ‘I have had dry MD for years. Does this mean I’m going to get wet MD too?’, ‘No one else in my family has MD. Why did I get it?’, ‘can drusen be treated?’, ‘I have changes on the Amsler Grid, does this mean I have MD’, ‘I have Wet MD but my Doctor says there is nothing he can do or no treatment available. Why is this?’
  • Click here for a short introduction to stems cells, what they are and how they can be used.

See what vision is like at the various stages of AMD

Click here to find ways to see simulations of what vision loss due to AMD is like at various stages.

Glossary

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Websites devoted to AMD and Other Forms of Macular Degeneration

listed in no particular order

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Websites containing information about AMD and Other Forms of Macular Degeneration

listed in no particular order

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Support

I’ve not been able to verify if these are kept up to date. Let me know if you find that they are not or if you have one  you’d like to add.

Message Boards including ones from
By postal mail

I don’t know if these are still accurate.

  • Association for Macular Diseases
    210 E. 64th Street
    New York, NY 10021
    (212) 605-3719
    – Offers education and information on macular disease through seminars, newsletters, and a hotline. Offers counseling to patients and their families.
  • Macular Degeneration International
    is now a part of Foundation Fighting Blindness
    Toll Free Helpline 1-800-683-5555
    EMail: MDInfo@blindness.org
    – Provides support for people affected by inherited macular degeneration including Stargardt’s disease.
Start Your Own
  • Vision Support Group-download video presentations  This group provides free information and support through presentations to groups of senior adults affected by macular degeneration and related retinal diseases.  You can join & get access to their materials so you can use them in your own group.
On the phone/telesupport

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Where to find services

  • In the US: click here to find a low vision center, retina specialist, state agency, ophthalmologist
  • In the UK: click here to support services (listed on the right side of the page) such as skills for seeing, counseling, access to treatment…and more
  • In the US: click here to search for a wide variety of services (more than the link above)
  • In Australia: click here to find an ophthalmologist and optometrist
  • Worldwide: click here for resources worldwide

Resources for Students

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Books and reading materials

Specific Titles

Sources of Books

Formats: Braille, large print, e-book and audiobooks

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Videos

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Personal stories of living with AMD

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Online newsletters

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What is AMD?

Wet Form
Dry Form
How fast does AMD progress?
  • A good article about how difficult this is to answer
  • Great video that explains why early detection is important especially when detecting the change from dry AMD to wet

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What is Stargardt’s Disease?

Also called Stargardt’s Disease (SD) or Stargardt Macular Dystrophy (SMD) or Juvenile Macular Degeneration (JMD), it’s an inherited, juvenile macular degeneration. The progressive vision loss associated with Stargardt disease is caused by the death of photoreceptor cells in the central portion of the retina called the macula.

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The Science Stuff

Role of RPEs

Geographic Atrophy

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Symptoms

Charles Bonnet Syndrome/Visual hallucinations

Other problems with vision & AMD

  • problems with visual acuity, photostress, blindspots, color vision, sensitivity to light, depth perception
  • eye problems that have similar symptoms as AMD:

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Risk factors

Age

  • Age is a large factor but can start earlier
  • Much less common are several hereditary forms of macular degeneration, which usually affect children or teenagers. Collectively, they are called Juvenile Macular Degeneration. They include Best’s Disease, Stargardt’s Disease, Sorsby’s Disease and some others.  See Stargard’s Disease section above.

Diet/nutrition (working on this section)

  • diet low in various nutrients & high in others have been linked to AMD.
  • See Nutrition and Vitamins/Supplements under Self-care/self-maintenance below.

Race

Gender

  • AMD more common in women perhaps because women live longer than men

Uncontrolled high blood pressure

Uncontrolled high cholesterol

Smoking

Blue Light

Eye Color

Aspirin & other medications

Other possible causes

  • Biological Process in Wet AMD – some evidence that the photoreceptors are starved by the lack of food (oxygen & nutrients in the blood) and the growth of blood vessels is to compensate for that.

Connection between AMD and Alzheimer’s Disease

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Treatments

  • FDA approved options in the US, injections, implantable telescopes, laser treatment (also outside the US)
Injections for Wet AMD
Telescopic implants
Are there new treatments in the pipeline?
Vitamins (see Self Maintenance/Self Care section below)

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Research/Clinical trials

 

How can I become a part of a clinical trial?

  • A list of sources of information about clinical trials and how to find out for you to participate in.
  • You can search for clinical trials from the links above
  • There are registries where you sign up and enter information about the status of your eyes.  Researchers will use this information to find people that match their research and contact you.  Click here for more information about these registries in the US and elsewhere

Gene Therapy

Bionic Eye/Retinal Implants

  • What is a bionic eye?  It’s also called retinal implant or retinal prosthesis.   Implant is put in retina, camera worn by person sends image to implant which stimulates optic nerve
  • Click here for overview of retinal implants including videos of how it works & interviews with people who have them.
  • March 21, 2016 UK Bionic eye being tested
  • Here’s an article about one being developed at Carnegie Mellon institute in Pittsburgh, PA.

Nutritional Supplements

  • See Vitamins/Supplements section below.

Stem Cells

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Coping with low vision

Low Vision Aids

Wearable Technology

  • coming soon!

Suppliers of low vision aids

Financial Help

Sunglasses

Lamps

Transportation

  • A website for the US where you enter your zip code and transportation options for your area will be shown.

Bioptic Driving

Depression

Checking vision

Amsler Grid

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Self maintenance/self care

Low vision rehabilitation

Vitamins/Supplements

Nutrition

Exercise/Activity

 

More to come, you can check out these posts now

Video: Overview of Assistive Technology for People with Low Vision

Highlight: How do I use Zoom for Apple products?

Highlight: What about Apple’s accessibility features?

News: Top 10 Low Vision Aids for AMD

 

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