Age Related Macula Degeneration
3. Is there a cure for Age Related Macula Degeneration?
Dry ARMD
Unfortunately there are currently no treatments or cures for Dry
ARMD. Assessment for Low Vision Devices and counselling/rehabilitation
to assist adaptation are currently the only options.
Wet ARMD
There are currently two clinical treatments for Wet ARMD.
The first, Laser Photocoagulation, involves the surgical
use of a hot laser to seal the abnormal blood vessels. The treatment
also helps to slow down or stop the development of the vessels.
The second treatment is called Photodynamic Therapy
and involves the use of a cold laser and a photosensitizer drug.
The drug is injected intravenously and attachs itself to the molecules
required by the developing blood vessels. Once the drug has reached
a predetermined level of concentration, a precise burst of cold
laser is applied to the area and the drug is activated, causing
the attached cells to break down.
In both cases effective treatment is only possible
if the condition is detected early enough. Once damage has been
done to the retinal cells by ARMD it cannot be reclaimed.
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