Macular Degeneration Treatment Options

Treatment Versus Cure

At present we can't really "cure" either type of Aged-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) and I fear the word "treatment" gets used more casually than it should be.

Damaged retinas have not been shown to regenerate and return normal vision.

Sometimes the macular degeneration treatment is sufficiently successful that it reduces inflammation or swelling and the patient does indeed see more clearly. However, this represents a stabilization of the condition, which is often the best we can accomplish. I pray that the day will come when we will do better.

Dry Form Macular Degeneration Treatment

Well, you can't change your parents so we'll ignore the heredity aspect for now.

Nevertheless, there are a number of studies that have shown the ability of a diet rich in fruits and vegetables to "turn off" disease-causing genes (see Epigenetics).

Here's what you can do, to help with your macular degeneration treatment:

• Stop smoking. Even if you've smoked for many years, quit. It will dramatically reduce the oxidative stress on the retina. I realize that quitting is one of the hardest things people ever attempt, but your sight depends on it.
• Dietary changes. We've really hammered on the fruits and veggies in the Nutritional Principles so I won't belabor the point. Nevertheless, it's absolutely fundamental.




• I've had patients look me right in the eye and say, "I ain't gonna eat that crap!" If that's how you feel get some top quality whole food supplements like JuicePlus and double-up on them. They're comprised of 17 different fruits and vegetables. There are cheaper whole food supplements out there but they have no research behind them and I don't recommend them.

  Note: If you wish information on JuicePlus, please use the request form on the whole food supplements page.

• Eat lots of wild, cold-water fish like salmon, sardines or mackerel. Some nutrition experts really sing the praises of sardines because they're really low in mercury contamination.

• Polyphenols in dark-colored berries like bilberry extract or whole bilberries, blueberries, blackberries and marionberries are good for your retinas.


• Supplements or "Eye Vitamins".
• Remember the DHA. It's usually available at health food stores listed as DHA/EPA. Take a single 1000mg capsule daily. If you want fish oil instead, find Carlson's Fish Oils or Nordic Natural Oils in health food stores. They're made from wild Norwegian salmon.
• You need to additionally take more lutein, zeaxanthin, zinc and antioxidants. I don't like to give the amounts of each vitamin or mineral because it's too hard, and sometimes hazardous, to try to buy each item individually and take them all one-by-one every night. Do yourself a big favor and buy a supplement that has been studied in an AMD trial and did well. That's much safer, cheaper and more effective in the long run. My favorite is OcuPower Basic from Nutraceutical Sciences Institute. It was studied in the Lutein Antioxidant Supplementation Trial and did very well. Make sure you specify BASIC or you'll pay more and have to take 5 tablets per day. With the Basic you take two tablets per day and that's it. Cheaper, too.
• Meso-zeaxanthin. This supplement is based on some new research by Dr. John Landrom and Dr. Richard Bone, two of the giants in the field of macular carotenoids, and consequently there are no products that have any research. Consequently we're reduced to using a brand we can trust. I'd suggest a supplement with meso-zeaxanthin from Life Extension Foundation at lef.org.
• Sunglasses. Since blue light has the highest energy and has been shown to be the most damaging to the retina in AMD, we need to wear sunglasses that block blue light. Yellow or brown (which has yellow in it) are recommended for AMD.
• Exercise. Oh yeah, I can hear it now. "What has exercise got to do with my eyes??" Well, it turns out that it reduces your risk for aged-related macular degneneration (AMD), probably because of the improvement to the vascular system. Better blood flow results in healthier retinal tissue.

Wet Form Macular Degeneration Treatment

• The treatment of Wet Form AMD is almost always centered on anti-VEGF drugs like Avastin and Lucentis. These drugs are injected into the center of the eye and are remarkably successful at causing the new vessels to regress (melt away). The treatment unfortunately must often be repeated, sometimes several times a year.
• Though the new vessels regress, the damaged tissue does not repair itself. Vision may improve, sometimes significantly, but it is not back to normal.
• The underlying cause of the AMD (low oxygen in the tissues) is not resolved and consequently the condition recurs.

Wet Form macular degeneration treatment should, by default, include the Dry Form treatment, but often doesn't. This is partly due to the fact that retinal surgeons are at the top of the food chain and are by necessity preoccupied with staying up to date on the highly technical, cutting-edge procedures and surgery they and they alone employ.

It's the task of those of us in the primary care disciplines to pursue nutrition, and that's what this website is all about.

More Information

Also review the Age-related Macular Degeneration page, explaining the risk factors and causes of AMD, for further information, and ways to reduce the risks.

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