Age-related disorder a stealthy thief of eyesight

By Megan Rauscher

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a serious eye disease that is a leading cause of blindness in the elderly, can cause serious vision loss before a person is aware of it.

"We can't stress enough how important it is that everyone make an effort to visit their eye doctor regularly, even if they don't think they have a problem," Daniel D. Garrett, senior vice president of Prevent Blindness America, an organization founded in 1908 to promote eye health, said in a statement issued by the organization.

Often the disease progresses painlessly, with many patients being initially unaware they have a problem. Once symptoms begin to appear, permanent vision loss may have already occurred. Possible signs of AMD include a loss of central vision, seeing a dark spot in the center of the field of vision, distorted or blurred vision, and wavy vertical lines.

AMD has devastating effects not only on eyesight but also on mental well-being. It's been shown that people with AMD suffer high rates of depression and emotional distress, often resulting from a loss of independence. As vision declines, AMD patients may lose their ability to drive, read a newspaper or even see the faces of their loved ones.

Prevent Blindness America named February as AMD Awareness Month and is launching a new, dedicated online resource to educate the public about the disease.

The Web site, preventblindness. provides information on risk factors, treatment options, and a downloadable tool called the Amsler Grid that can help identify vision abnormalities linked to AMD.

Currently, AMD impairs the vision of more than 15 million Americans -- a number that is expected to balloon in the near future, given the aging of the US population. Current estimates put AMD-related costs at $575 million annually.

"Although there is still no cure for AMD, new and promising medications and treatment options are continuously being developed and researched," said Dr. Timothy Stout, a retinal specialist and researcher at the Casey Eye Institute in Portland, Oregon. "Being diagnosed with AMD is the first step to saving vision, so we need to make everyone aware of the disease and get them into the eye doctor to get a complete exam."

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Sources: Reuters | Reuters Health