Macular Degeneration: In mid-life

The most common age related eye problem, which is irreversible, is macular degeneration, a disorder of the retina.  Macular degeneration is an age related condition effecting people over 50 years.  The cell in the macula, which is the area near the center of the retina, slowly deteriorates and that is the reason why the central vision is affected.  The result of this eye disease is that you will start seeing blurred images, words will not be clear, and there will be blank areas blocking you central vision.  Gradually, the vision on both eyes is lost.  There are treatments only for slowing the progress of this condition.

Nutritional deficiency, hereditary and smoking is supposed to be the main causes for this disease.  Even people with high blood pressure and diabetic are at risk.  There are two types of macular degeneration, the wet and the dry.  The dry condition is more common, where the macula starts thinning with age.

Strong evidence has been discovered by a key National Eye Institute (AREDS) that some vitamins like Vitamin A (beta carotene), C and E are helpful in slowing or even preventing dry macula degeneration.  The study has shown that a person taking high doses of these supplements reduces the risk of progression on this condition by 25%.

Soon we can hope to hear good news about the treatment for this disease from the team of stem cell researchers of University of Wisconsin-Madison.  They have started research on using retina like tissues which is produced from the patient’s skin.  The team is being led by Dr David Gamm of the UW School of Medicine and Public Health and the former UW scientist Dr Jason Meyer.  Though the results so far have been quite positive, Dr Gamm is of the opinion that there is still more research to be done on this.

According to the nutrient studies, eating dark green leafy vegetables daily does delay macular degeneration by many years.  Vegetables like spinah, kalle and collard greens contain carotenoids, which delay the onset of this vision losing condition by many years.

Research has found a strong link between this condition and UV rays, so exposure to sunlight must be protected by wearing sunglasses.  Likewise, smoking is known to increase the onset of this condition by 2.5 times.  Since our eyes are the window to the world, we should seriously care for them , so that we can view this world and our loved ones all our lives.