Studies on Macular Degeneration

In the wake of National Eye Institute reports that upcoming years will see a surge in vision loss and blindness due to eye diseases and conditions like macular degeneration, glaucoma and cataracts, macular degeneration studies have become ever more important in the prevention of vision loss.

The latest study, published in the April 2004 Archives of Ophthalmology, claims that roughly 1.8 million adults are affected by macular degeneration, an age-related disease that damages the macula - the center of the retina - and eventually leads to total vision loss. Researchers believe that the number of Americans with vision loss or blindness will grow from 20.5 million to 30.1 million in the next 20 years.

In an effort to prevent these numbers from increasing, researchers are performing macular degeneration studies on ways to prevent the disease from advancing to the point of blindness. So far, doctors are unsure what exactly causes macular degeneration, and thus have no means of curing the disease. Instead, research focuses on methods of preventing further damage to the macula, thereby halting vision loss.

The National Eye Institute's Age-Related Eye Disease Study found that a mixture of antioxidants, including beta-carotene, vitamin C, E, and zinc oxide may aid in the prevention of advanced macular degeneration. This study found that patients who took the supplements reduced their risk of further vision loss by 28 percent.

Further macular degeneration studies are focusing on the possibility of transplanting healthy cells into a diseased retina; evaluating families with a history of macular degeneration to understand the genetic and hereditary factors that may cause the disease; and investigating treatment methods.

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Macular Degeneration Topics

Macular degeneration, treatment, studies, symptoms, vitamins, prevention