Good eyesight is obviously extremely important to all human beings. Poor vision can inhibit every aspect of our daily live and there are many conditions and eye diseases that afflict people around the world. Macular degeneration, for example, is an age-related condition which causes the loss of vision in the center of the field of vision. It affects millions of people in the United States and is one of the leading causes of blindness in adults that are aged 60 or older.
The center area of our retina is called the macula and this is the part which gets affected and damaged with macular degeneration. To see objects clearly and help in our everyday activities, we need our central vision. People with this type of disease often develop a blind spot or have wavy or blurry vision. However, it is important to consider that this only prevents people from being able to read or recognize faces and that peripheral vision is not affected. While it is not curable, it is not a disease that causes complete blindness.
Wet macular degeneration and dry macular degeneration are the two forms of this eye disorder. In wet macular degeneration, abnormal blood vessel behind the retina start to grow and this leads fluid and also blood leakage. This may result in rapid central vision loss, so it is imperative to seek treatment quickly. In dry macular degeneration, the macula simply wears due to the aging process. Wet macular degeneration is the least common among the two though both of them do pose a serious threat.
There are also other risk factors that are associated with macular degeneration. Aside from simply aging, individuals who are smokers and those with high cholesterol or high blood pressure also have been found to be at a higher risk. Those who consume a high fat diet or who are obese also seem to have a higher risk. However, this disease is highly hereditary, so if you have a relative with macular degeneration, you are at a higher risk of developing this disease.
With the aid of modern science, there are now several treatments used for this disease, such as ranibizumab. This is a monoclonal antibody treatment which is injected once each month directly into the eye. This is when antibodies are used to stimulate the patient's immune system to target and attack specific cells. Custom monoclonal antibodies were used in the creation of this drug, which can be used only to treat the wet form of macular degeneration.
People can also train their eyesight to use their peripheral vision more effectively to compensate for the loss of vision in the center of the vision field. Today there are computer screen readers and adaptive eyeglass lenses that can help make this disease easier to deal with and have less of an effect on one's daily life.
The center area of our retina is called the macula and this is the part which gets affected and damaged with macular degeneration. To see objects clearly and help in our everyday activities, we need our central vision. People with this type of disease often develop a blind spot or have wavy or blurry vision. However, it is important to consider that this only prevents people from being able to read or recognize faces and that peripheral vision is not affected. While it is not curable, it is not a disease that causes complete blindness.
Wet macular degeneration and dry macular degeneration are the two forms of this eye disorder. In wet macular degeneration, abnormal blood vessel behind the retina start to grow and this leads fluid and also blood leakage. This may result in rapid central vision loss, so it is imperative to seek treatment quickly. In dry macular degeneration, the macula simply wears due to the aging process. Wet macular degeneration is the least common among the two though both of them do pose a serious threat.
There are also other risk factors that are associated with macular degeneration. Aside from simply aging, individuals who are smokers and those with high cholesterol or high blood pressure also have been found to be at a higher risk. Those who consume a high fat diet or who are obese also seem to have a higher risk. However, this disease is highly hereditary, so if you have a relative with macular degeneration, you are at a higher risk of developing this disease.
With the aid of modern science, there are now several treatments used for this disease, such as ranibizumab. This is a monoclonal antibody treatment which is injected once each month directly into the eye. This is when antibodies are used to stimulate the patient's immune system to target and attack specific cells. Custom monoclonal antibodies were used in the creation of this drug, which can be used only to treat the wet form of macular degeneration.
People can also train their eyesight to use their peripheral vision more effectively to compensate for the loss of vision in the center of the vision field. Today there are computer screen readers and adaptive eyeglass lenses that can help make this disease easier to deal with and have less of an effect on one's daily life.
About the Author:
Armand Zeiders enjoys writing about biomedical research. For additional information about custom monoclonal antibody production service, please check out the PrimmBiotech.com website now.
No comments:
Post a Comment