Macular Degeneration of Eye Hurts Reading Vision

An estimated 10 million Americans, most of them elderly, suffer from macular degeneration of the eye, a disorder that robs them of fine vision for reading.

Usually their only recourse is to use powerful magnification devices. Nothing can be done to stop macular degeneration, the loss of cells at the center of the retina that give one the ability to see close objects and read print, ophthalmologists say.

“You can’t repair it,” said Dr. Leon Lane. “Eye cells are like brain cells, and you can’t regenerate cells of the brain.”

In a small number of patients, the loss of macula cells in the retina can be halted if the cells are being damaged by blood leaking from vessels in the eye, said Dr. Linda J. Kaplan.

A test called fluorescent angiography uses dye injected into the arm to map blood flow, Kaplan said. She takes photographs of the eye to track the leaks. The ruptures are sealed with a laser.

“They won’t get back what they have lost, but it will stop it from going further,” she said.

The laser technique cannot help once vision is destroyed in the tiny pinpoint area of the retina that allows people to read.

Lane said one of his “biggest frustrations” is that many older people suffer from macular degeneration and don’t know the laser technique can help if applied early.

“We can’t replace that part of the eye. That why it’s so important that someone who has a change in their eyes have it checked immediately.”

Aging is the most frequent cause of degeneration of the cells, although diabetes or infection can kill the sensitive cells, Kaplan said.

The effect on vision is that the central area of focus is lost, she said. Someone with macular degeneration looking at another person will see their hair, ears and shoulders, but not the person’s face.

Remaining peripheral vision used with magnification and light will allow the person to read. Several magnifiers, called low-vision aids, are used. They vary from complex viewing screens that blow up the print to easy-to-use lenses that clip on to glasses.

A combination of increased light and looking slightly off center at the material the person wants to see can overcome the functional blindness of macular degeneration.

“Many of these people can’t even write their own checks. We can get them help with some of the low-vision aids,” Lane said.