MACULAR DRUSEN DISEASE

This condition is also called age related Macular Degeneration or just Macular Degeneration, but because it can occur at just about any age, we prefer to use the name which describes the main finding, which is the development of DRUSEN BODIES under the retina.

What are Drusen Bodies?
These Drusen are round yellow deposits, which form within the layer under the retina. This pigment layer is normally brown in color and reflects light back to the retina to make a sharp picture. The Retina is the thin, transparent membrane lining the back of the eye which functions like film in a camera to make the picture.

What Causes It?
The cause of Drusen Bodies is not totally understood today. Hardening of the arteries, amount of pigmentation (blue eyes less and brown eyes more), heredity, and the continuing exposure to sunlight, are all factors, which together bring about the deposit of this yellow material.

Drusen Bodies may form in any zone in the back of the eye. When they are away from the central part, there is usually very little effect. The central part of the retina is where accurate and sharp vision occurs. This is called the MACULA and is where we can read printing or see clearly to thread a needle. When Drusen develop under or near the Macula, there is a threat to this accurate vision.

Symptoms
Not every person with Drusen under the Macula has poor vision. In fact, the deposits may be present for many years without any trouble developing. Two things can develop which will cause trouble: clear, watery fluid can leak around the Drusen and form blisters, or small, new blood vessels can form. The blisters of fluid distort the retina and make straight lines seem to have curves or to be wavy. The small new blood vessels can burst and produce bleeding which blacks out vision in the area of the hemorrhage.

What Can Be Done?
Learn about what can be done when a person has been found to have Macular Drusen disease.

The Eye Associates Medical Group will help you to understand your eye disease and suggest the tests and treatments that may help you to maintain useful vision.

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