(PreserveMacForte.com) Twenty per cent of people who are older than 70 years old are adversely impacted by age-related macular degeneration (AMD), reported WRAL.com recently.
According to the article, only recently has there been a treatment available to combat AMD, the primary cause of vision impairment. As it turns out, a new type of eye injections are enabling AMD sufferers with advanced forms of the disease to, among other things, hold onto their sight for a longer period of time.
The article highlighted the case of 69-year-old Lou Giglio who, while enjoying golf during his retirement, almost had to retire his golf clubs due to vision impairment issues. Giglio said in the article that he had trouble seeing, and therefore hitting, the golf ball. In fact, his vision became so bad as a result of cataracts in both his right and left eyes that he needed to undergo surgery. The procedure provided relief for his left eye but not for his right eye, according to the article.
As a result, Giglio saw a Duke University Medical Center retina specialist who diagnosed him with early stage wet AMD. There are two types of AMD — wet and dry, and the wet version is the worst of the two. It is typically characterized by the formation of abnormal blood vessels that end up leaking blood and other fluids that damage the eye. In the article, Dr. Nora Lad, Duke ophthalmologist, called AMD “an aging disease.”
Because Giglio was diagnosed early, there were more options on the table as per treatment such as new medications that, when injected into the eye, would slow down the progression of macular degeneration or ward off additional fluid build-up and vision impairment.
According to the article, Giglio said that, following the injections, “there’s no pain.” He acknowledged, however, that there’s a bit of “discomfort while your eye is getting rid of the anesthesia.”
The article added that Giglio is now receiving Eyelea eye injections every month — and, due to his “excellent” vision, he’s still able to play golf. Meanwhile, Dr. Lad said that Giglio, with regular follow-ups, “has an excellent prognosis.”
Read More: http://www.wral.com/new-eye-injections-can-slow-vision-loss/12252801/