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What is Age-related Macular Degeneration?
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Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) is a very common degenerative ocular disease. It affects an area of the retina, the macula, preventing central vision, which is essential in everyday activities such as reading, driving or identifying people and objects. AMD is the the primary cause of visual deficiency in industrialized countries.
AMD explained in first person
Professionals and patients explain how you live with the disease
Age-related Macular Degeneration (A...
A follow-up of the treatment is essential to maintain a useful vision for years.
Ricardo Casaroli
Ophthalmologist
AMD explained in first person | Por...
I could not watch TV nor anything. I saw everything in black. Now I can see it and I can even read.
María
Patient
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a degenerative eye disease that affects the macula of the eye. This is a small area at the centre of the retina, responsible for central vision and the detail needed when reading, driving or identifying people and objects. AMD is the most common cause of severe vision loss in people over 60 in the western world.
The mechanisms of vision are often compared to that of a camera. The retina constitutes the back of the eye and is formed by light-sensitive cells, which is equivalent to a photographic film or the sensors in a digital camera. A cluster of light-sensitive cells are grouped together in an area called the macula and provide a special function: our accurate vision (or central vision).
Different types of Age-related Macular Degeneration
Macular degeneration is an ageing process occurring in the retina which evolves from an initial stage to early, intermediate and advanced forms of the condition
Early and intermediate AMD.
Corresponds to the earliest stage of the disease. It is caused by the progressive ageing of the retina. Deposits of fatty products, called drusen, accumulate in the outer layers of the retina causing them damage.
Advanced AMD – Dry or atrophic form
This occurs as the final stage of retinal ageing. Drusen affect the macula and produce irreversible atrophic lesions that hinder or prevent accurate (or central) vision.
Advanced AMD – Wet or exudative form
In some cases, the abnormal growth of blood vessels beneath the macula can occur, causing haemorrhaging and image distortion.
The effect of drusen on vision can vary, from practically unchanged to a gradual loss of central vision acuity.
Advanced forms can lead to scarring in the centre of the macula provoking an irreversible loss of central vision.
How many people does Age-related Macular Degeneration affect?
AMD is estimated to affect around 1.3% of the Spanish population aged 65 to 74 years old and 5.7% of patients over 75, which equates to 485,000 patients.
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Substantiated information by:
Javier Zarranz Ventura
Ophthalmologist
Ophthalmology Department
Mª Socorro Alforja Castiella
Ophthalmologist
Ophthalmology Department
Ricardo P Casaroli Marano
Ophthalmologist
Ophthalmology Department
Published: 20 February 2018
Updated: 11 July 2025
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