Age-related or Myopic Maculopathy

Age-related maculopathy is an age-related degenerative disease that affects the macula, the central part of the retina, causing a progressive and irreversible reduction in visual capacity.

There may be two different forms of degenerative maculopathy:

Dry: It consists of thinning, reduction of the cellular component of the central retina that, as it is not adequately nourished by the choriocapillary tube, atrophies (loss of photoreceptors) and causes a scar in the macula. It develops slowly, often affecting both eyes.
Wet: less common but more aggressive. It involves the formation of abnormal retinal blood vessels in the area of the macula, leading to intraretinal and subretinal serous-haematic effusions, with consequent damage to the photoreceptors

Symptoms of Age-related or Myopic Maculopathy

Maculopathy does not cause pain, but identifying it is generally easy. A first symptom is the distorted vision of the images: deformation of the lines (horizontal or vertical), blurred vision, or an incorrect perception of the size of the objects observed.

In order to understand whether an age-related degenerative maculopathy is developing, it is essential to carry out a number of control examinations: in addition to an examination of the ocular fundus, optical tomography (OCT) and fluorangiography (FAG).

Causes of Age-related or Myopic Maculopathy

There are some non-age-related risk factors that have been associated with the occurrence of age-related maculopathy, namely:

Cigarette smoking
Diabetes mellitus
Alcohol abuse
Sedentary lifestyle
Male gender
Prolonged and repeated exposure to very bright light
Omega-3 and vitamins deficiency

Age-related or Myopic Maculopathy Diagnosis

During the first examination, the ophthalmologist carries out a complete eye check by assessing the front segment of the eye and examining the ocular fundus to analyse the state of the retina.

If this initial check reveals any problems, specific further tests will be carried out, including:

Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT)
Retinal fluorangiography (FAG)
Indocyanine green angiography

Treatment of Age-related or Myopic Maculopathy

For the treatment of Age-related Maculopathy, in its 'wet' form, an 'intravitreal administration' drug therapy is possible (inhibitors of endothelial growth factors, a-VEGF), which in many cases makes it possible to block or slow down the progress of the disease, preserving visual capacity for a long time.

The drug is administered directly into the vitreous chamber on an outpatient basis and does not require any special preparation on the part of the patient.

Treatment of Age-related or Myopic Maculopathy - Recovery Time

Recovery times vary depending on the severity of the injury.

Possible Intervention Techniques

Intravitreal Administration

Intravitreal administration is a possible drug therapy for the treatment of wet form of age-related maculopathy.

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