Tag: wet macular degeneration

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.

News: Sept. 3-4, 2016

These are links that I shared with the Facebook group for these days.

Highlight: Once my wet AMD is stabilized, does my eye continue to worsen?

There’s been some confusion in what eye doctors have told patients about the disease process in AMD and there are 2 questions that have come up in the Facebook group: 1) does wet AMD start as dry? 2) once the bleeding is stopped in the wet form, does the deterioration of the macula continue, ie, does the dry process continue?

About question 1, through my research I’ve found that a lot of articles don’t specify this, they just say there is the wet kind and the dry kind. However, most descriptions from reliable sources say YES, wet AMD starts as dry but sometimes the dramatic symptoms from the bleeding gets a person to the eye doctor & they never got the diagnosis of dry where the early stage has few symptoms.

About number 2, here’s the clearest answer to that question I can find:

Click here for the full article.  There is at least one error in the transcript.  In the second paragraph of Dr. Gorin’s response that starts with “We understand a great deal more in recent years because of the genetics studies that have been done.”, there is the word ‘bruising’ which should be ‘drusen’.

In this article, here is a quote is from the transcript of a telephone discussion with Michael B. Gorin, MD, PhD, an ophthalmologist from UCLA who is devoted to research and clinical care of hereditary retinal disorders, especially age-related macular degeneration, retinal dystrophies and other medical retinal conditions.

Dr. Gorin:

“But for a group of patients, it can diverge into two different paths of progression. One is where the cells that care for the retina begin to die and you start getting areas of atrophy—that is, cell loss—and on those areas of cell loss, you lose areas of vision. And that’s called atrophic, or advanced dry macular degeneration. That’s usually slower, but it can be very problematic for people, because it can create little holes in their vision and ultimately, if those holes get larger and coalesce, one can lose central vision from that. The second pathway—and by the way, they are not mutually exclusive, some people can have both of these things going on—is because of the damage to the cells underneath the retina, it triggers the formation of a blood vessel, either a blood vessel underneath the retina or sometimes even in the retina. That blood vessel is an abnormal growth; it’s not a tumor or a cancer, but it’s a blood vessel that’s stimulated to grow, and it unfortunately leaks and can bleed, and because of that leakage and bleeding, you get the term ‘wet’, because the fluid is leaking into the retina. Over time, that accumulation of blood and fluid disrupts not only the architecture of the cells, but can lead to fairly rapid vision loss. So, wet macular degeneration treatments at this stage are really focused on trying to prevent the ongoing growth and leakage of these abnormal blood vessels. The treatments do not stop the underlining degenerative process or the causes of macular degeneration in the first place. A person who is having successful treatment of the wet form of macular degeneration is really not having their macular degeneration stopped. The treatment is blocking and limiting the amount of damage that occurs.”