March Is Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD)
Awareness Month; Experts Say Early Detection is the Key to Saving Eyesight

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 13, 2007 Age-related macular degeneration
(AMD) is the leading cause of visual impairment and blindness in Americans
older than 50, affecting more than two million people.
    March is AMD Awareness Month, and the American Academy of Ophthalmology
wants to remind people that although AMD is incurable, there are new
treatments that can usually recover lost vision and prevent further vision
loss from the disease.
    The Academy encourages those older than 50 to see an ophthalmologist
for a comprehensive, dilated eye examination every one to two years to
ensure that AMD and other vision-threatening conditions are detected and
treated early.
    "The key in treating AMD is catching it early; early detection is the
best defense against losing your vision," said Academy clinical
correspondent Lylas G. Mogk, MD, chair of the Academy's Vision
Rehabilitation Committee. "Research continues, and I think we'll see
increasingly effective AMD treatments becoming available in the near
future."
    What is AMD?
    AMD, progressive and usually painless, affects the macula, a small,
specialized area of the retina, located at the back of the eye and
responsible for central vision. AMD causes central vision to blur, but
leaves peripheral vision intact.
    There are two types of AMD: dry and wet. Approximately 90 percent of
people with AMD have the dry form, in which aging changes in the macula
result in gradual vision loss.
    Although only 10 percent of people with AMD have the wet form, it
generally progresses much quicker than the dry form. Wet AMD is
characterized by the growth of abnormal retinal blood vessels that leak
blood or fluid, causing rapid and severe central vision loss.
    Reducing AMD Risk
    "The most important risk factors for AMD include smoking, high blood
pressure and diet," said Dr. Mogk. "Recommendations for reducing the risk
of developing AMD include not smoking; eating a heart-healthy diet rich in
fish, fruit and green leafy vegetables; avoiding foods with trans fats;
exercising and controlling your blood pressure and weight."
    Other risk reducers include:
    -- The National Eye Institute's (NEI) Age-Related Eye Disease Study found
       that high levels of antioxidants and zinc can reduce the risk of vision
       loss by about 25 percent in patients with "intermediate" AMD in one or
       both eyes and those with "advanced" AMD in only one eye. (Smokers and
       ex-smokers should not use beta carotene because studies have shown an
       association with lung cancer and beta carotene in smokers.)  A new
       study will evaluate the effects of lutein and omega-3 fatty acids.

    -- Anti-Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) drugs inhibit the
       development of unwanted blood vessels that cause wet AMD, and these
       agents help prevent further visual loss and even improve vision. At the
       current time, these are injected directly into the eye. Two drugs have
       already been approved by the FDA, Macugen and Lucentis, and the makers
       of several others are looking to gain FDA approval.

    -- Conventional laser therapy and photodynamic therapy are also treatments
       for wet AMD and have been approved by the FDA based on studies by the
       National Eye Institute (NEI).
    To learn more, patients should ask their ophthalmologist for the
SmartSight handout from the Academy Web site. To locate vision
rehabilitation services in their area, patients should call Vision
Connection at 800-829-0500 or go to Help Near You at
http://www.visionconnection.org/.
    About the American Academy of Ophthalmology
    The American Academy of Ophthalmology is the world's largest
association of eye physicians and surgeons -- Eye M.D.s -- with more than
27,000 members worldwide. Eye health care is provided by the three "O's" --
opticians, optometrists and ophthalmologists. It is the ophthalmologist, or
Eye M.D., who can treat it all: eye diseases and injuries, and perform eye
surgery. To find an Eye M.D. in your area, visit the Academy's Web site at
http://www.aao.org/

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