WITH MORE THAN 15 MILLION Americans already suffering from some form of Macular Degeneration and almost 2 million Americans already experiencing vision loss from this progressive disease with an additional 3 million Americans expected to lose their vision by the year 2020, it’s time for ALL Americans to get their heads out of the sand and recognize that this is a very serious problem!  One of the most common reasons to explain this dramatic increase in blindness due to Macular Degeneration  is the fact that there is a very rapid aging of the US population…..we’re just getting older and so are our eyes!

More than 200,000 Americans develop a severe form of Age-Related Macular Degeneration every year thus making it the leading cause of blindness in people aged 65 or older.  One-third of the population over the age of 75 is likely to develop Macular Degeneration! 

And yet, despite these sobering statistics, MOST cases of early Macular Degeneration are UNDIAGNOSED!  It seems that, for most Americans, PREVENTION and EARLY DETECTION are not features of their health care concerns especially when it comes to vision.  Macular Degeneration is NOT curable but it IS TREATABLE especially in its early stages.  Early detection requires the patient COMING INTO the Medical Eye Doctor’s office and being checked to determine if Macular Degeneration is present or, at the very least, to determine what risk factors are present that are putting the patient at risk to develop the disease.

Keep in mind that Macular Degeneration disrupts the central vision which one needs in order to read or write or drive a car or even watch TV.  It makes it impossible to recognize faces, to go up or down the stairs and even perform many routine tasks that we are used to doing.  It completely limits one’s mobility and destroys one’s sense of independence and security.

Of course, not everyone really knows just what IS Macular Degeneration in the first place?  Actually, Macular Degeneration is really a group of similar diseases that affect the Macular.  The Macular is a very tiny section of the Retina.  The Retina is a paper-thin tissue which lines the inside of the eyeball itself.  The Retina contains two kinds of cells that receive the light that enters the eye through your pupil.  These are the RODS and the CONES.  These cells receive images and convert them to electrical signals that are sent to the brain through the Optic Nerve.  The Optic Nerve is the main nerve leading from the back of the eye to the brain.  The Macular, which is the size of a pinhead, is rich in CONE cells which give us our central vision and color perception……..MORE LATER….

John Colombo, M.D.